The Moon and Stars
by LoveFangs91
Summary: A collection of Sookie and Eric short stories. Smut, romance, action, suspense, maenad, dates, lemons, fun, bonding and more inside. Each story has it's own synopsis. AU
1. Maenad

**Hey guys, **

**So here's the first of the short stories. It's my take on the maenad attack from the beginning of the Living Dead in Dallas book. Charlaine Harris still owns the characters from the wonderful Southern Vampires Mysteries. I'm currently on half term even though I've technically graduated college, so I'm doing quite a bit of writing because of the hours I'm spending studying. I had my hair cut yesterday; half of it's gone! My mid-back length hair is now barely scraping my shoulders, but it does mean you can now read all of the writing on my 'Team Northman' t-shirt. Anyway, on with the short story. **

I had the radio blaring as I drove down the quiet Parish road on the way to Fangtasia; happily singing along although very out of key. I couldn't carry a tune to save my life but it never bothered me. I laughed as one of Jace Everett's song came on, crooning the words that rang true in my head; the bad things that I desperately wanted to do to Eric. It was Monday night and by our usual routine he should have been at home tonight but he was stuck at the bar, trying to hire a new bartender.

The night was black with the only illumination coming from my car's headlights and the dim stars shining down from above, the moon was hidden behind some clouds. The balmy summer air was finally beginning to cool after several hours of the sun setting down below the horizon. I could feel Eric's happiness coming down from across the bond as he knew I was getting nearer; it only helped to amplify my own joy. I hadn't seen him in a couple of days as the recent staff changes at the bar and kept him tied up in Shreveport whilst I was stuck at Merlotte's.

The juddering of the car brought me back down to Earth with a sudden bang as I realised something was wrong with my old car. I knew I should have taken the truck when I set out but tomorrow I was finally giving away my car and I needed to take it for one more drive. Tomorrow someone would be collecting it to drive it down to New Orleans to give to a family still in need. It was the least I could do considering the amount of cars available to me thanks to Eric. I'd managed to convince him to donate his old model ZR1, which had been quite a task but he'd relented in the end, buying himself the new model.

The car shook violently and I could feel the power draining from the engine quickly. My foot slammed down on the breaks as the steering went wild, turning sharply to the left on its own volition. The trees were coming up fast in front of me and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I held my breath, preparing myself for the impact. The engine cut completely as I hit the grass verge, still hurtling towards the tree line of the woods that lined the road. The brake pedal was fully to the ground but I still continued to roll forward, simply not having enough time to stop. Letting go of the steering wheel I threw my arms in front of my face, cowering back into the seat.

My entire body jarred as the front bumper collided with one of the trees, altering the car's course. I was thrown against the door as the car skidded sideways along, thankfully losing momentum with every second. I rocked forward as the car suddenly stopped and my neck screamed in instant pain as I collapsed backwards against my seat. The breath I'd been holding rasped out of me and I continued to pant as I took stock of everything that hurt. My eyes were still shut but I could already feel the concern and worry winding down the link I had to my vampire. Eric knew something had happened.

Pain radiated throughout my entire body which wasn't good since adrenaline was still pumping through my veins. Slowly, I opened my eyes to find myself staring at a tree that was splayed across the bonnet of the car. A large crack splintered the glass of the windshield, threatening to shatter into tiny shards at the slightest movement. Bruises were erupting on my flesh, sending the loud ache thudding through my body. The groan was out of my mouth before I could even think of holding it back.

I needed to get out of the car before the windshield broke; I didn't want to have to go through the hell of getting so scratched and cut if I could avoid it. Carefully, with shaking hands, I unclasped the seatbelt that I knew had left a mark going across my chest when I'd been flung forward. The door opened with little effort and I half fell out of the car, I was so desperate to escape. Without thinking I shut the door behind me to hear the shattering of the glass as all the shards fell onto the old leather seats from the rattle of the door closing.

Breathing sharply through my nose I crawled away, on hands and knees to sit against a tree by the road side so that I was visible to passing cars but still safely off of the road. My knees were grazed, oozing blood, from the fall to the ground and my hands were in the same shape. Purple was erupting in several shades over a lot of my body and my neck ached when I moved. Overall though, it could have been a lot worse and I was relieved to be okay. That's when the adrenaline seemed to leave my body entirely, a ghost not leaving any presence behind, and the trauma of being in the crash showed itself in the tears threatening to spill from my eyes.

More concern was weaving its way through my brain as I felt Eric's frustration of not being able to reach me. My cell phone was stuck inside the car but I already knew it was useless; you could never get signal here. I sighed in frustration at the situation; I was stuck without a car or cell phone, about equal distance from Shreveport and Bon Temps, injured. Eric was on his way to find me, I could feel him drawing nearer slowly, but he didn't know exactly where I was and it was a burden on my independence to need my man to come and rescue me.

My curled up fists thumped against the foliage strewn ground and I screamed through my teeth at the frustration. Hot tears rolled down my cheeks to drip from my chin. I threw my head back against the trunk of the tree and breathed heavily in through my nose and out my mouth, trying to calm myself down. As I sat in silence, listening intently to my breathing something broke the stillness I'd surrounded myself with. Scuffling footsteps sounded through the trees behind me, as though something searching for something amongst the tree roots.

My breath caught in my throat as I thought of all the possibilities; it had only been a week ago that the wild pigs had been spotted in the woods around Bon Temps. It wouldn't be difficult for them to walk a few miles further up the state. Tension thrummed through the air and the entire woods felt like it was holding its breath along with me. Nothing moved and nothing stirred. My heart thudding was the only thing I could hear; it filled my ears and drowned out the other noises.

I strained to hear anything above the thudding but the forest was eerily silent as I waited. Unable to stay without oxygen by breath rattled quietly out of me before I sucked in a deep gulp of fresh air. My body was tense as my senses were on alert, trying desperately to pick up on what was out there. Something wasn't right. Something was out in the night with me.

"Eric," I whimpered to myself as I sat perfectly still against a tree.

I cast around with my mind, testing the area for any brain signatures. No one was out there, there wasn't a single person creeping about, not a vampire either. The area was completely blank of visitors but the unearthly silence still clung to every surface, the noise deafening in its absence. All I could make out were the shapes of trees, growing closer together the further back I looked. That's when I heard it; the snapping of twigs underfoot. The rustling of leaves as feet walked through the bushes.

A bright light of activity suddenly erupted in my mind. The cacophony of thoughts stampeded through my mind and I collapsed. My hands went up to my ears, trying desperately to block out the words. None of the thoughts made sense, none of the thoughts were in English. The only thing I understood was the maliciousness that they were bred from. I screamed when the thoughts turned towards me; I saw myself on the ground, quivering through the eyes of the creature and I knew it wanted me.

"Eric!" I cried desperately as I scrambled onto hands and knees, desperately trying to get away from whatever was in the tree line. My scraped knees argued against the movement but I propelled myself forward, towards the road and the extra light the pale stars offered. Hands and feet moving faster than I could co-ordinate I narrowly avoided the trees, paying too much attention to the ground directly before me. By the time I was within a couple of meters of the road I was scrabbling in a half up right position, being pushed forward by my constantly falling momentum.

I broke free of the trees and the welcome light of the moon splashed down on my face and I felt hope in my heart which was still pounding in my chest. I gasped for breath as I kept running on the road, not caring which direction I was taking. My feet slapped on the tarmac, the sound echoing in the stillness of the night. A manic cackling erupted from behind me and a shiver ran down my spine. The clacking of hooves began to follow my on the road. The hooves pattered quickly on the floor, gaining with every passing stride.

"Stop!" A feminine voice commanded the laughter still clear in the single word. I ignored the order, running with renewed vigour against my screaming joints to avoid whatever fate awaited for me.

The hooves were almost on me, I could feel the hot breath of the creature against the backs of my bare legs. The animal ran into me, full pelt, taking my legs out from underneath me. I was thrown backwards, over its back and onto the solid tarmac. The air left my lungs and my back ached with the jarring stop. The wild boar pushed into my ribs, the large tusks digging angrily into the soft flesh of my stomach, rolling me over onto my side. I curled up instinctively. The pig stared at me with a strange intelligence in its eyes and the sick sensation of knowledge washed over me. The pig was a shape-shifter.

"The mighty always fall." The laughing voice called again from just behind my head. I flipped quickly onto my back, desperately trying to find her. There was nothing there, just an empty patch of road, vaguely lit by the stars. "Humans are so weak," she leered at me and I got the glimpse of long black hair trailing down a back from the corner of my eye before everything was still again. The yellow beady eyes of the pig glared into my head, daring me to move. "This will be much more fun, I expected a vampire. But the vampire's bonded, how much more appropriate." She sang as her slender body sashayed into view.

The long black hair was a tangled mess as it fell around her shoulders with the fringe partly obscuring her eyes which I knew were staring intently at me. Blood was smeared across her pale skin which looked slightly translucent in the dim lighting. A tattered dress which was once white clung to her curvaceous figure, leaving little to the imagination. The floating skirt gave way to bare feet which were caked in mud but she didn't seem to care. I couldn't stop myself from speaking my mind, "What are you?" I quickly retraced my steps, adding in my manners, "Madame, if it's okay to ask you that." I couldn't bring myself to smile at her.

She loomed above me as she took a graceful step forward. Slowly she lowered herself down to kneel in front of me, one disgustingly mucky hand reaching out as though to touch me. The long nail of her forefinger hovered above my skin, trailing down from my collar bones to below my navel. "Little girl, I am a Maenad. Don't you know you're history? Ask your big vampire." She grinned at me, lips peeling back until it was almost a snarl. She'd been eating something raw, sinews of muscles clung to the small gaps between her teeth.

"Now, I want you to pass this message along to the Northman. Are you listening?" Her finger was digging into the soft flesh beneath my sternum, between the buttons of my shirt. I nodded my head, not having the air to speak. "I want an answer. Are you listening?"

"Yes," I croaked out through a strangled gasp.

"Good. Now tell the Northman I am here." Her strangely styled eyebrows rose at the end of her speech, waiting for my answer. Confused I simply whispered another yes. "Now, I feel like having some fun tonight. You have until the count of three."

I didn't know what she meant; my brain was still focusing on being held in place by both the maenad and the boar. The pig pulled back a few paces, waiting in the wings. That's when I realised she was giving me a countdown to run. I didn't know what she was going to do if she caught me. "Three." All I did know is that I really didn't want to find out.

I pushed onto my hands and feet, crab walking backwards from under her presence. "Two." Her words rang in my ears as I realised she was counting much faster than I'd expected. My muscles thrummed with more adrenaline as I propelled myself backwards. I flipped over, onto my hands and knees again and began to push upwards so that I could run. "One." My stomach plummeted as my heart rose into my throat as her maniacal laughter filled my ears.

I didn't hear her starting to follow me. I didn't hear the pig. I felt the intense cacophony again as her brain focused entirely on me causing the bile to rise in my throat at the images of violence passing through her mind. All I really felt was the instant agony that swept through my entire body, covering my back in its searing heat. I screamed as I fell. No words just an agonised cry for help before all the air was knocked out of my lungs by the impact with the ground.

Everything hurt but it erupted from my back and it consumed every thought I had. The already dim night blackened completely until my world was just the pain in my back. Laughter rang through my ears, growing more distant as though it was haunting me, looking over my shoulder. I was falling in on myself and all other sense; sight, sound, taste and smell became void as they were consumed by the blackness and pain.

Time passed but I couldn't track it, I didn't know what was happening around me as I was completely in my own bubble, oblivious to the outside world. Eric's influence barely cut through as I realised he was drawing closer, getting near to me.

"Sookie!" A voice called out through the blackness with no body with which to belong. I recognised the voice with the very core of my being but I had no higher power. I heard it but it was the only thing that I registered. "Sookie," the voice whispered again, calling me up through the night.

Fresh pain washed across my body and it felt like I was constantly being stabbed by wasp down the lines etched deeply into my back. The jostling motions gave me the knowledge that I was being transported but to where and by whom were ideas beyond my capacity. My empty eyes stared out at leather seats that I couldn't place, that I didn't recognise. The only thing I knew was the pain. Screams and shouts began to fill my ears but I barely realised that they were coming from me.

I welcomed the blackness, the oblivion as I succumbed to the wonderful unconsciousness that brought relief from everything I was experiencing; there was no pain inside the black hole.

"Dr Ludwig! What can we do?" A deep voice growled out, cutting through my serenity.

"You can reign in your temper. I'm going to try to heal this woman, if it isn't already too late." A tiny voice, high in pitch, replied with a severity of tone that I wouldn't have thought possible.

"You need to heal her," my vampire replied. His voice was changing position relative to me as though he was pacing quickly back and forth across the room. Cool hands began to traipse across my heated flesh but I kept my eyes closed, that way the longer I could cling to the hope that I wasn't actually reality.

"Vampire, you would do well to calm yourself. I work better when I can concentrate on the patient." The squeaky voice replied. The pain began to ebb back into my conscious mind as I became more of myself. My shields were completely down but no brains were impeding on me, the doctor certainly wasn't human but she wasn't a vampire either. I could feel waves of her feelings brushing against my mind; her irritation at Eric's pacing, her irritation at being called out in the middle of the night, her irritation at having to work for vampires.

My eyes slowly fluttered open as I became more conscious and the pain wouldn't allow me to remain in my blissful peace any longer. My breath came in hissing gasps as I began to take in the room before me. I was splayed out on my front on the sofa in Eric's office, wearing only my shorts. Eric himself was pacing swiftly around the room, his long strides allowing him to cross one width in only three steps. His long hair was in tangles around his face as he kept running his fingers through the locks in frustration that he couldn't do anything to help me.

"Eric," I breathed out between my gasps. His face was instantly taking up my entire view as he peered intently into my eyes, taking all of my pain into himself.

"I'm here lover," he replied as his large hand carefully brushed back my hair from falling in my eyes. "You're going to be okay." A tight lipped smile decorated his handsome face as his deep voice sent calming, soothing waves across me and through the bond we shared.

"I'm going to knock you out now; you'll want to be asleep for this." The squeaky voice belonged to a tiny woman of a doctor garbed out in typical green scrubs. A mesh surgical cap kept the wiry hair in order whilst half moon glasses were perched atop her sharp nose. The beady eyes were a curious shade of yellow, bordering a more normal amber. It was her general stature that was the strangest though; she was petite beyond belief, standing barely four feet tall and she was completely dwarfed by my Viking who was only crouching beside her. Before I could respond in any way a sharp pin prick stabbed at my elbow as she injected a cream coloured liquid into my veins. Immediately the pull of serenity was lulling me back down into my oblivion. My eyelids began to close and my sense switched off as I was pulled down lower.

"Will this work?"A deep voice asked with concern.

"Who knows? She's very far gone."

"It has to work," my vampire growled out. It was the last thing I heard and I couldn't respond in any physical way to reassure him. My pain had disappeared completely and I was left in limbo, walking the line between waking and completely blackness. All I could do was send my love down that extra bond we shared to let him know that I cared for him deeper than I thought imaginable, at least I could tell him one last time if this was the end.

I awoke later with my head resting against something cool. Soft material wash pushed into my cheeks and a cool hand was stroking my other as my eyelids began to flutter. A breathy sigh escaped my lips as I awoke without the agonising pain gripping my body and I couldn't help but be happy that I was free in my own skin.

"Lover," a deep voice breathed as my eye finally opened to reveal his face watching over me from seemingly only inches away. "How do you feel?" His bass voice was full of concern and the deep frown line was in place down the centre of his forehead.

"Strange," I replied before really thinking about it. My muscles held a liquid feeling that usually only came with a good sleep but my joints ached as though I'd done several hours of hard exercise. My back was wonderfully free from pain but I could still feel the deep lines the talons had made in my flesh as though the wounds were still open. "I ache." I added finally as I began to push myself slowly into a sitting position.

My head had been resting in his lap and at some point while I'd been unconscious I'd been dressed in one of his plain black t-shirts that he kept stored at the club for emergencies. The soft material was strangely comforting against my skin, it helped that Eric's unique scent clung to the fabric, mixing the fresh scent of clean laundry with his definite masculinity. My back protested at my movement, the stretching sensation was oddly daunting, feeling as though I was going to rip open my flesh if I moved to fast. For all I knew, that could be exactly the case.

"Be careful," Eric cautioned as he placed his hands on my waist, lifting me effortlessly to sit across his lap. "Tell me what happened." It wasn't a question.

"I was in a little accident with my car," I started out wondering how shocking that news would be to him. In all honesty I didn't want to be talking about this now; I wanted to shower and not get dressed again, instead simply slip into bed and sleep until the memories of tonight had faded into the background. It didn't seem that this was news to him though; his body remained stiff, the tension thrumming through his muscles.

"I know."

"When I got out of the car I was bruised and shaken but fine. I was waiting for you when I heard something behind me. I heard someone laughing at me and I ran. I was running down the road when her pig barrelled into me, and he guarded me, keeping me down."

"Her pig?" He asked quizzically with his eyebrows rose. It was clear from how much attention he was paying that he'd already pieced together the events and was just checking everything through. His mind was elsewhere, deep in thought, whilst he cradled me almost absentmindedly against his chest.

"Yeah, razorback. But I don't think it was an animal, I think it was a shifter." I shuddered at the first memory I recalled that I felt true emotion for immediately. I couldn't ignore the intelligence I'd seen in those beady eyes as they stared into me as the pig held me in place with its sharp tusks. "She came up a few seconds later, threatening me from the start."

"Who is she? That's the only part that I can't understand. She left human tracks but she smelt like an animal." He nearly spat the words as his hand stroked carefully up and down my back, tracing the marks I could still feel.

"She told me she was a maenad, but she didn't look anything like the women I've read about." I shivered as I recalled her leering over me, ready to strike at any second.

"I'll keep you safe," he whispered into my hair as he pulled me protectively even closer into his chest. The stillness of his body washed over and I felt a sense of calm envelope me as I latched onto his silence. I nodded my reply, knowing that I would be safe as long as I was by his side, I knew, deep down where there wasn't true thought or reason that he would die to protect me.

"She asked me to send you a message."

"What did she want?" His voice was cold and laced with venom for the woman he'd never met.

"I was the message." I replied quietly.

"You were the message?" Eric growled out. He carefully placed me onto the sofa besides where we sitting so that he could begin his pacing again. This time it was slower, slightly crouched and he reminded me of a lion stalking its prey on the savannah, except my Viking couldn't see his prey.

"She told me to take a message to you, then she gave me to the count of three to start running, that's the only reason the scratches are on my back. She had me pinned on the ground, almost cutting into my stomach." His bright blue eyes flashed towards me, burning in his rage.

"I want to kill her!" He growled out as he leant against his desk that still had the marks from when I'd first met Pam at the bar.

"Is that a good idea?" I asked quietly, not wanting to see him get hurt. As much as it pained me to think it, I wasn't entirely sure that Eric would win in a fight against the maenad.

"No, not at all. They are very difficult to kill." He sounded like he was speaking about it from experience and he must have seen my curious expression because he continued, looking up at me from his stooped position. "It was St Petersburg, about 1880. She sent her madness into a vampire. It took twenty of us to stop him. If you really want to know I'll tell you sometime, but that time is not tonight."

"Okay. What does she want? She said she wanted a vampire but that she discovered me and that I'd be much better because I'm your bonded." The fury in his eyes would have been enough to make a grown man quake in his boots; I simply shivered in my seat, sitting back into the cushions carefully even though I knew the rage wasn't directed at me.

"I expect she wants tribute. I wish I was capable of killing her," he whispered. "You'll want to look away." He stated in a monotonous voice that I could feel through the bond was masking his pure red rage. I didn't look away; I knew what my bonded was and I wasn't going to shy away from his very nature.

Surprisingly calmly he walked over to one of the filing cabinets in the corner; one that I knew was mainly for storage of things that just simply didn't fit anywhere else. His muscular arm drew back, his fist curled up with knuckles showing even whiter than the rest of his pale skin. Quicker than I could see his hand had disappeared into the metal, buried up to midway toward his elbow. The metal groaning was reverberating around the room as he drew back, breathing hard through his nose. The metal of the cabinet had held but it had been forced to relinquish its shape to his incredible strength. A fist shaped dent created a crater in the side.

"I told you to look away," he whispered when he turned around to see me facing him, I could see his extended fangs when he spoke. "You shouldn't have to see that."

"I know what you are Eric, I'm beginning to understand what your basic nature does to you. But I know there's some good in you. If there wasn't it would have been me on the receiving end of that punch."

His eyes softened at my words, the edges crinkling slightly as some of his anger quickly retreated. He was kneeling beside me in an instant. "Never. I will never raise my hand in violence towards you Sookie, believe me." I honestly did as well. We'd been dating for a couple of years, bonded for a half a year of that; I knew him better than any other living person did. I knew his sincerity and honesty and the way his very nature screamed at him to protect me. I was safe with Eric.

"I know." I replied softly, placing my hand along the side of his face.

"I just wish it hadn't been you. I have to sort a tribute out for her." He smiled at me slightly before standing up to return to his pacing, trying to work off some of his built up energy.

"What's the tribute?"

"Maenads are the crazy worshippers of Dionysus, women driven insane by their lifestyle. They're immortal, truly immortal because after centuries of wishing and believing it to be so, they simply are. They live for wine, mystery and most of all intoxication so they have a special interest in bars such as this. They believe that all of the emotions linked with bars, such as anger, fun, fear and chaos, are theirs to feed on. They demand tribute when they see fit to keep their madness from clubs. The tribute will have to be something that she can eat, feed from in more ways than one."

"I'm guessing you don't mean cooking over a fire pit." I remembered the sinews of raw meat stuck between her teeth, the blood smeared across her lips.

"No. Bears, lions, wolves have been used before. I will do that same again. I should try to get something better though; import a polar bear or a pack of wolves, give her a real hunt. If I do she should leave this area for a long while, centuries at least. That will keep you safe." He nodded his head in finality before pulling out his cell phone. He tapped away on the keys sending someone a message, most likely Pam to begin organising something as tribute. "Pam." He nodded as he finished, flipping the phone closed and replacing it back in his pocket.

He walked over to me then, slowly and eased himself back down onto the sofa, pulling my back onto his lap. I was immediately cradled in his arms, my head resting on the crook of his shoulder. While we'd been talking my back had been healing; the stretching sensation was less even though I was curled up and the skin no longer felt like it was going to split open with the slightest motion.

"My darling Sookie, I have an apology to make." I pulled back from his chest to look him in the eyes with my eyebrows raised; Eric seemed to live by the notion that you should never regret any action so that you should never have to apologise. Even in our relationship he hardly ever verbally apologised although he did send me apologies in other ways; taking me somewhere special, doting upon my every whim and I could feel through our bond his guilt. It almost made apologies unnecessary but it was still nice to hear them. At the minute though, I couldn't think of anything he needed to apologise for.

"It's my fault you were attacked. No." He cautioned when he realised I was going to protest. He pushed my head back onto his chest with a large hand and he began to speak again, the vibrations through his chest oddly comforting. "It was my fault that you were even coming to Shreveport tonight; I should have been with you at home. You shouldn't have had to use your car; the truck wouldn't have caused you to crash like that. Even if you did you would have been able to drive away, after destroying most of the trees. You were attacked as a message for me. For this Sookie, I am deeply sorry. You should never have been in that situation. "

"You don't have anything to apologise for, it's not your fault. It's neither of our faults; it's the maenad and the sick, twisted mind she has."

"Even so, I'm sorry Sookie."

"It's okay, you came through for me. As soon as something went wrong with the car I could tell you were on the way for me; you probably saved me in the end. You got the doctor and I can feel your blood in my veins. It's your blood that's healing me."

"Yes."

"Then don't apologise again for something you can't change. It was nice to hear it though," I smiled, even though he couldn't see it. He would be able to feel my slight amusement.

"What can I do to help you feel better?"

"Let me heal, let me relax. I want to sleep."

"Do you want to go to your house or mine?" He asked with confusion, we hardly ever spent time at his house instead we divided our time between my house and our shared home that acted as our secret haven.

"I want to go home."

**Remember, I love reviews almost as much as I love a Viking vampire willing to do virtually anything to apologise. The rest of this note isn't in bold because I find bold annoying to read. **

I want your import on which order the stories come in, so I'm going to give you a brief overview and please let me know which you would most like to read. So in no particular order;

Dawn in Dallas – Eric surprises Sookie with a trip to Dallas for their first year anniversary and so that he can formerly introduce her to some of his almost peers. Things don't exactly go to plan when the vampires suspect that something is different about Sookie.

Vampire Heart – Eric proposes to Sookie in a typical vampire way, he wants her to be his bonded

Halloween Massacre – Eric's account of what happened in St Petersburg in 1876 with the maenad that sent her madness into a vampire

Miss June – Eric's account of meeting Sookie for the first time and how he came to be so enamoured with her that he turned up on her door step when he had amnesia

Bill – What really happened with Bill and why Sookie really wouldn't ever go back with him

Tea Cup Humans – a light hearted look into Sookie seeking to get her friendship back with Arlene. She's looking after Coby and Lisa one night when Eric drops by for a visit

Eric the Victorious – a conversation between Eric and Sookie where he divulges about his human life and how he became a vampire

These are the ones that I have actual plans for so let me know what you think. I'd also be happy to hear any suggestions for stories you guys have. Thanks!


	2. Miss June

**Hey guys, **

**So here's the first thing I've ever written from Eric's point of view, I'm not entirely sold on this idea, it was quite difficult. Synopsis is basically Eric's take on how he meets Sookie for the first time at the bar. Can be read independently but probably makes more sense if you've read Cor Aut Mors. It was Lu's birthday today, 2! I can't believe he's that already. People still call him a puppy because he's so small though, but I promise he's fully grown. To celebrate I took him for a really long walk with his doggy friends, i.e. the dogs that belong to members of my family. So picture this if you will; a tall blond Goth walking with four dogs; a miniature dachshund, a German shepherd, a westie and Labrador/collie cross. It was brilliant, all the amazed looks I was getting from other walkers because all the dogs walked obediently off the lead, I don't think I could have managed if they aren't all so well trained. Right, I'll let you get on with the update now. Oooh, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. **

**

* * *

**

I was sat surveying the bar from my corner booth, not bothering to sit with the rest of the vampires at the bar, they couldn't hold my interest anyway. Tourists and fang-bangers littered the entire place, mingling in and making a racket that dinned above the already loud music as they went about their business. Some days I regretted opening the bar in the first place because of the people I had to deal with on a daily basis but deep down I truly cared for this place. I'd put innumerable hours starting this place up and some nights were fun, letting me meet new people but after a thousand years most things begin to get boring.

"Leave." I stated in monotone as another girl playing dress up scuttled towards me, I didn't even let her get to the front of the table. I just couldn't be bothered with any of it tonight.

I ran my left forefinger around the rim of my bottle of True Blood which was sitting on the table in front of me. I couldn't stand the synthetic blood, at least not the common types though the rarer blood groups had a more manageable taste that I could actually drink. Having a bottle in front of me gave reassurance to some of the tourists while kept the edge off of my hunger in case I didn't meet someone I could drink from. I'd never left without satiating my hunger before. The good thing about being my age was that I needed very little blood to drink; the rest was pure indulgence.

"Eric." I looked up to see Pam standing next to my table, her hand placed predictably on her hip with the permanent bored expression etched onto her pretty face.

"Yes?"

"Bill has arrived and he's brought a play thing with him."

"That's strange, he told me he was trying to mainstream." I replied with a smirk as I realised I could very well have caught him out.

"Do you think he'd let me play?" She asked with a mischievous glint in her eye. You had to know Pam before you could see her emotions actually displaying on her face; it had taken me nearly a century to get fluent in the art.

"I doubt it; our Bill is rather conserved when it comes to his possessions. Who did he bring? I might have to see for myself," I chuckled, letting my fangs run down at the thought of getting intimate with Bill's human.

"I'll get back to the door," Pam replied before sweeping gracefully away, walking with exaggerated hips to give the patrons the full benefit of the Morticia Adams dress. It was the vampire uniform for the club and Pam made it clear to me, when no one else could hear, that she didn't approve of wearing it. She would much prefer to be in a skirt and jumper, probably of a pale pink colour that she was so fond of.

I began to scan the room for signs of Bill and his human. Bill had a problem with authority and was one of the vampires that were adamant about not spending his dutiful hours at the bar even though he was living within area five. He said he couldn't as he wanted to mainstream. He just didn't want to be around me. If he'd been more honest and I would have been more lenient but this way, I did get to have more fun.

The dance floor was covered in gyrating bodies, all pale and ethereal although more than half were aided with cosmetics. The loud thumping rock music aided people in their dancing; even those who had no sense of rhythm or beat but the crowds made it difficult to see anyone. I watched the bar, nodding towards Long Shadow as he tended the bar for any sign of Bill. My patience was rewarded only moments later when his pale face appeared before the bar tender.

I couldn't stand Bill; his personality was annoying and honestly boring, whilst his face just made me want to hit it. His boring brown hair was constantly flopping in front of his eyes that were again a boring brown. I could however, appreciated how some women would find him attractive in an old world gentlemanly way. I couldn't stop the grin from spreading across my lips as I thought of how many women Bill actually attracted compared to the numbers that I even turned down without talking to them.

Bill was standing alone at the bar which must mean that his companion was alone at their table. I couldn't resist trying to tempt her away from Compton; the only down side to my fun would that it was likely to be very easy. I stood, rising to my considerable height, to scan the bar from my new vantage point. If I actually routinely breathed when I didn't have to speak, my breath would have caught in my chest when I laid eyes on her.

She stood out from the crowd in her gleaming white dress complete with red petal-led flowers with long green stems that were linked together. Her long blond hair, only a few shades darker than my own, was trailing over her shoulders, down her back in loose curls that I simply wanted to hold as I kissed her. Intelligent blue eyes that were verging on grey were staring intently at something she was holding in her hands which was currently obscured from my view. Tanned legs were crossed at the knee but visible to me as they peeked out from her modestly cut dress and from underneath the table. She was intriguing; I'd never come across anyone that wore white to Fangtasia.

I wanted her to look at me, desperately so that I could gauge her mind and whether she was epitome of dumb blond, the stereotype which she seemed to be personifying. I focused on her, letting my mind go blank apart from the vision of the human girl before me. I pushed my will on her, wanting her to luck at me, wishing her to do my bidding. I stared intently as I felt the energy of my thoughts begin to thrum through me as I concentrated on bending her to my will. She remained oblivious to me desperately trying to enthral her.

I couldn't understand what was going wrong; I was old enough to not need eye contact to roll her mind so being able to see her eyes should have been no problem at all. She remained completely unscathed though, continuing on with the strange action she'd been doing since I'd first laid my eyes on her. Pain was begging to prick behind my eyes; I was focusing so pointedly on her pretty little head. I had to get nearer. She was intriguing, not bending immediately to my will; it had been centuries since I'd really had to try to enthral someone.

I walked slowly towards her, oblivious to the creatures walking around me until the man began to rub up against my side when I skirted around the edge of the dance floor. "Move," I growled out not diverting my eyes from the beauty.

"Dance with me," the unusually high male voice purred in my ear as his hands snaked around my neck, trying to pull my head down to meet his.

"No. Release me." I replied. The man didn't move and I briefly flickered my eyes to his, finding that it was a young Caucasian male that looked like he was barely old enough to be in the bar. I placed my hands on his slim shoulders and pushed, sending him reeling across the slick dance floor with barely any effort at all. "Never touch me again." I stated, barely audible over the pumping music but making my intentions clear to everyone in the vicinity.

I stalked towards her, still focusing on her but no longer simply trying to enthral her; I wanted to see what she'd do when she saw me as she just didn't seem to be a typical woman. I was stood beside her table in seconds and I was surprised at what she was gazing at. In her hand she was clutching the Fangtasia calendar tightly, her eyes trained intently on the month of December, my own picture. Her cheeks flushed with pink which I watched with too much enjoyment for my own good. My fangs ran down as I watched her, still engrossed with my photograph.

"Can I help you at all?" I asked politely. She only noticed that someone was stood beside her when I spoke. Her beautiful face turned towards me, bright blue eyes running up my body from mid-waist. As soon as she got to my face she let out an audible gasp and I couldn't contain the slight grin at the way I affected her. This should be quite simple. She remained quiet, eyes wide and startled like the deer in the woods when it sees the predator. It was only when I raised my eyebrows at her expectantly she managed to form a sentence.

"Oh my, erm, I'm fine thanks." She replied sweetly as the blush escalated on her cheeks, sending her closer to crimson than baby pink. Her stuttering did not help the stereotype she was giving off but it was a little, well, adorable.

"Okay then. I'm Eric and who might your blushing form be?" Her blush deepened and she looked slightly embarrassed by the reaction her body was making as though she hadn't been aware she was already blushing.

"I'm Sookie Stackhouse, pleased to meet you!" She responded quickly using her southern belle charms but she did offer out her hand. How was she associating with vampires but still offering contact? We never shook hands and actually avoided each other as much as possible; at least I did, especially with the males. Her hand swiftly retreated and I couldn't help but smiling; she'd also said that she was pleased to see me, sounding genuine. That was an endearment I hadn't heard ever in this context, I did hear it a lot from fang-bangers who just wanted to meet a vampire.

"You are, are you? How much are you willing to do to prove it?" I asked with a smirk gracing my lips. I simply couldn't resist leaning my tall frame over her table slightly. Her eyes went wide instantly her mouth popping open slightly before slamming shut with a determined gleam in her eyes.

"She's mine," growled a masculine voice behind me. Standing up to my full height once more, I turned around to find bill scowling at me, his eyes shooting me a glare from behind his hair. I stared back, my face purposefully devoid of any emotion. The desire in me burned brightly I wanted Bill to start a fight so much. Bill had the unfavourable ability of annoy by his mere presence, it started several decades ago but I would undoubtedly win, alas I couldn't be the first to strike a blow or there would be serious repercussions from the queen. "She's mine." Bill repeated with his voice barely above a whisper, trying to be intimidating the only problem was that it didn't work on me, Bill was too young.

"Bill, I am not yours!" The blond haired firecracker scolded, sending a grin stretching across my lips at her words. She wasn't as loyal towards Bill as I'd first believed although he seemed oddly attached. Again though she'd surprised me; it was safer to belong to someone in these parts, without partners you are were fair game, if you're human.

"If the woman declares it, she is free game." Sookie's angry eyes shot towards me and they sparkled even in the dim lights with her intelligence. She really wasn't a dumb blond at all. She was just becoming more curious with every passing second.

"The same goes for you!" She was staring at me straight in the eyes and I couldn't resist trying to influence her again but nothing changed in her eyes, not matter how much I tried. "I won't stand for your statements. I am my own." She huffed audibly, nodding her head to accentuate her words which only sent her slight curls bobbing around her head. Her arms were flung across her chest which was rising and falling exaggeratedly with her anger.

I barely noticed the gleam in her eyes as her body language completely about turned and she relaxed as much as I thought she was able to in the current setting. She stared up at me before speaking again, "I do however have something you can do to make it up to me." I had a double blessing of watching Bill's eyes bulge at her crass outburst and being completed astonished with her gall of speaking to me like that. A human had never spoken to me like that, at least not one that knew I was a vampire.

I couldn't resist the urge to try and get her to blush again with my response, "I would be happy to help you with," I paused, allowing the images to fill her mind. "Anything." I finished smiling even though I didn't get a rise out of her. Perhaps she wasn't as innocent as she appeared in demure white.

"I said no more," Bill whispered quietly to her but I still heard, even above the racket of the music. It was interesting that he didn't jump to defend her again; perhaps he wasn't quite as stupid as I thought. She was quite safe at the moment though, she was far too interesting for a human to scare.

"Have you seen any of these people here?" She asked after she'd pulled a few photographs out of her small purse.

I was looking at three smiling faces, all in separate pictures and all of them were completely different. The women were familiar, the fairer haired one was a regular at the bar and I'd actually taken her to one of my houses one night to feed from, she'd been a lot of fun. The other one had been too pathetic to bother with; squirming in any vampires grasp as she danced in the bar, wanting desperately for of us to bite her. The man however I had never seen although he had similar characteristics to Sookie; blond hair, blue eyes although his lacked her intelligence, and a truly happy smile.

"The man I have never seen. He is your brother?" She nodded in confirmation so I continued with the rest of my information. "The women I have seen. She wanted to die quite desperately. I had no time for such a pathetic creature. She however, I have tasted. She wanted to live, to have fun." Her tanned face paled with each passing words but at the end she smiled graciously before taking the photographs back. She was staring at me with new found curiosity, I had the feeling she was learning something about me. I just didn't know what and try as I might; she still wasn't bending to my will. "I helped her," I whispered directly into her ear, stooping down before Bill could stop me. Her sudden gasp was the only response I needed. Grinning I walked away, my fangs on full display.

I spent the rest of the evening nursing a bottle or True Blood in the booth that I'd claimed for me earlier in the night. My gaze kept flickering towards the blonde and her vampire partner at their own table and even when I wasn't looking towards them I was focused on them. I could hear their conversation, or rather, the lack of it even across the room my ears were so attuned to their every movement. She appeared to be deep in thought with her eyebrows pulled down low over her eyes, casting them in a slight shadow. Bill at her side was watching her almost as intently as I was but energy was rolling off of his body as though he was angry, I just couldn't fathom out why he was angry.

They left the bar only an hour later, barely speaking a word to each other and both carrying their bodies stiffly as though they were in an awkward situation. What words they did say gave light to nothing. I shook my head, trying to clear as they walked out of the door and I hoped that would be the last time I both saw and thought of the young blonde. She had been so beautiful and interesting for a vampire; she'd done nothing that I'd expected and the persona she gave off was nothing like her actual personality, what I'd seen of it anyway.

"Excuse me," a timid voice called out to me. My gaze flickered up from the wooden table top to find a very petite brunette stood in front of me. She was in her early thirties although the makeup she was wearing was enough to shave a few years off of her life, to a human at least. She was dressed entirely in black; slim line biker boots, form fitting jeans and a patched lace vest top completed the ensemble. I did not want a fang-banger at the moment.

"Yes?" I asked not bothering to put any pleasant emotion into my voice.

"Would you like a fresh true blood?" Her voice tinkled over the music as she smiled wide, showing all her brilliants white teeth whilst she brandished a bottle of unopened True Blood towards.

"No." I replied and went back to staring at the table top.

Sookie was playing on my mind, more than what was acceptable. She was completely different to every other woman I'd met, at least recently .The last human woman who'd held my attention for this long had been Pam and I'd ended up siring her then. I didn't want a new vampire; I didn't have enough time to have a new protégé. That's when I realised I needed a distraction to clear her out of my mind.

"Hello Sweetheart," I called out as I stood up to catch her before she left the area completely. Her back was to me as she slunk away but at my words she turned around, looking cautious. She obviously knew me well from the bar.

"Yes?" She asked as she faced me fully.

"I changed my mind. But I don't want a true blood." I replied with a small smile that felt more like a grimace, especially with my fangs down. She smiled wide in return. She was the exact opposite of Bella; dark hair, pale skin, short, too skinny and completely in black. This girl might be just what I needed.

I crossed the distance between us, turned around with my large hands on her shoulders to usher her towards the door. My arm snaked around her shoulders, steering her towards the exit and I took a breath, scenting the smell of cigarettes and wine. She would be a good distraction. "So what's your name?"

The next evening I awoke in my own bed and on my own like I desired. The night before came flooding back; Jasmine had no talent as such but a lot of enthusiasm and she had no issue at all with blood donating. I'd taken her to the house I kept simply for visitors whether they are vampires or humans, no one knew where my true home was, not even Pam. I'd left her an hour before dawn, dropping her back off at the bar in my corvette so she could get home safely in her car whilst I'd raced down the highway, running from the sun. I'd climbed into bed a few minutes before dawn and sank immediately into blissful oblivion.

Of course I couldn't stop my mind from remembering the other events of the night; Sookie looking delectable in her white dress, tanned legs, staring at a calendar turned to my photograph. She could be my own personal Miss June if I was to be her Mr December. I smiled at the tan that had graced her skin; most of the women, if not all of the women, I met were decidedly pale. I'd been able to smell the sun in her hair and my mind began to wander again, imagining the sunlight dancing off of her skin like diamonds. "I have to stop this," I growled to myself as I got up and padded towards the shower, hoping I could wash her from my mind with the hot water.

Nothing worked though and try as I might she still played on my mind like a ghost, haunting my every move whether I wanted her there or not. Simple things that I didn't even think about seemed to remind me of her; Ginger complaining about needing a coffee and how most humans started off their day with a drink, the woman walking down the street in a white sundress from her day in the park, the new waitress with curling blond hair. When I realised I couldn't banish her from my thoughts I tried a different tactic; become bored of her.

When you've lived for over a thousand years it's very easy to become bored with anything; especially people as few seem original anymore. I scoured my sources; internet, colleagues and Pam. The internet was completely useless there was no entry at all for her name; she wasn't a member of any of the social networking sites that seemed to be so popular with humans. That had the opposite effect to my original goal; she became more interesting because she simply differed from the norm.

One of the bar tenders knew a little about her though; they were friends of Bill's and he'd talked about her when they'd run into each other at the mall. She was a waitress from the small town where Bill was living and did nothing remarkable with her life at all. Pam was the biggest help; her mental capacity was impressive and she had an amazing memory. From snippets of conversations she'd overheard and her general knowledge of the super-naturals within area five she was able to tell me she worked at Merlotte's bar for a shape-shifter called Sam but she again could tell me nothing of her social life, the woman simple didn't seem to do anything worth noting. On paper she was truly unremarkable but she was a remarkable person. She'd captured my attention with only a brief meeting and she intrigued me. She'd resisted me and there's nothing I like better than a challenge.

"What's wrong with you?" Pam asked as she peered into the open window of my Corvette. I was parked in the employee parking lot at Fangtasia with the engine of my car still running.

"Nothing." I replied with a growl in my voice.

"Yes there is. Tell me." Pam was the only one that I let away with talking to me like that. She was my child but we were more than that; we were as close to friends as I could come.

"Sookie Stackhouse."

"What about her?"

"She interests me. I've found this information out about her and honestly? It's boring. But she still plagues my thoughts. It's not right."

"Perhaps there's something more there Eric. You have feelings; you're not the completely cold vampire you give off. You need to analyse your feelings for her." I looked up at her, instead of the steering wheel which I continued to grip tightly, to see her staring back at me.

"I don't have feelings for the human." I didn't have relationships with humans.

"Yes you do. You just don't know what those feelings are." She replied with intelligence that you didn't always see.

"I don't understand feelings."

"No you don't. That is why you are going to get out of this car. You are not going to Bon Temps; you are walking into your bar. You are not going to drive over to see her and wreck everything you've been thinking about. You would actually regret feeding on her." She paused to watch the emotions freely flowing over my face; shock, horror and finally disdain that she'd been able to see through me when I hadn't even admitted to myself the possibility of having feelings for Sookie. I also had no idea how she'd known I was contemplating going over to see her, to yell at her and to try to influence her once again. It couldn't be true that there was a human out there immune to vampire powers. "Besides, I don't think she'd let you."

Pam clambered out of the car and walked towards the bar, leaving me on my own. I stayed sat for a moment contemplating what I would do if I did go to Bon Temps; seek out Sookie, make her tell me why she was different from other people, yell at her for being with Bill. My anger would get the better of me and that I knew I didn't want. Sighing, I switched off the car and walked to the bar. I wouldn't go to her now, I needed to sort things out, try and understand what I was feeling. I would go to her one day though.

"Good." Pam stated simply as I walked in.

"I'm only staying away for now."

* * *

**So what did you think? Remember I love reviews almost as much I would love to snuggle with a certain Viking vampire. Did you guys see the leaked pics of butt naked Skarsgard/Eric from season three? I knew there was a reason I was a butt girl lol. If you guys get another alert tonight it's because I'm posting a synopsis chapter. Thanks!**


	3. Dawn in Dallas

**Hey guys, **

**So here's Dawn in Dallas, it's a pretty long one. I hope you like it. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. I'm rather unhappy at the minute lol, I have a tan! I never tan, I'm usually that porcelain white. I spent a lot of my childhood in Florida, hence why I have a strange sort of none accent, and I never tanned, instead remained a pale cream. But now, after three days of sun in England, whilst wearing sunscreen, I tan. It's not good lol. So, on with the chapter. **

**

* * *

**

"Hello lover," Eric's deep bass voice greeted me over my newly acquired mobile phone. A smile erupted across my face at hearing from him. He'd recently been very busy at Fangtasia and I hadn't seen him since last Monday during his day off and that had only been for a few hours before sun rise.

"Hi Eric," I replied happily as I walked towards the staff entrance and exit at the bar. I was on my break which was the only reason I'd actually been able to answer the phone.

"How are you?" He asked and I could hear the genuine concern in his voice; he was so protective of me.

"I'm good thanks; I kind of miss you though. Are you going to be able to get over here tonight?" It was Monday and it was the night that Fangtasia was shut, his usual day off which he tended to spend at my house. I'd been called in to work a split shift for Arlene as one of her kids was sick but it still left us with plenty of time at this time of year.

"No, I'm afraid not." He replied.

"Oh," I replied, sounding despondent even to my own ears.

"But I have a surprise for you. You'll need to pack a suitcase for a five day trip."

"Oh, where are we going?" Pure excitement had leaked into my voice immediately; I'd never really been away from home before and definitely not for five days, growing up we'd never had enough money for a real holiday.

"That's the surprise." He replied and I could hear the deep chuckle as he laughed at my excitement.

"Eric!" I almost whined. "You have to tell me where we're going sweetie! I'll need to know what to pack."

"Sookie," he sighed and I knew it was for my use of the pet name. He didn't like the endearments I enjoyed calling him, especially if other people could hear. He managed to cope and understand when we were in the privacy of our own homes but he couldn't afford to have any notch in his authority.

"Sorry."

"I'm still not telling you where we're going, pack your normal clothes. The weather should be suitable. I've had a dress delivered for you, you should pack that too. I'll be over at your house as sun down. Be ready and I'll take you to the airport."

"You got me a dress?" Eric wasn't a romantic person by his very nature but he knew how to treat me right, he liked making me happy and the more romantic elements made me happy. So he tried.

"Yes. Now, Sookie, I have to go. I need to finish these books if we're to set off on time tomorrow evening. Jag alskar dig, Sookie." He stated in his customary fashion when someone could overhear him. I heard a growly male voice shouting for him from somewhere in the club.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow. I love you too." I replied and with that we hung up.

I walked back into the bar with a spring in my step and went about the rest of my shift with a genuine smile on my face. The happiness I felt exuded from me and I found it easier to control my mental shields. A bonus of my happiness was the extra tips I got. I still had issues with money although Eric had told me several times that all I had to do was ask. I couldn't take money for him though; I would feel too much like a kept woman if he did. We'd come to a compromise of sorts though; if he ever needed to use my telepathy for anything he would pay me for my time. I'd also noticed that his gift ideas tended towards more practical items.

As my shift came to an end, two hours before the bar was due to close, I went to see Sam who was stood behind the bar pulling the pints for the few patrons still around. His strawberry blond hair was in its typical disarray around his head and he was actually wearing a Merlotte's uniform t-shirt which he hardly ever did in favour of his usual checked shirt.

"Hey Sam, can I see you for a minute in your office?" I asked sweetly.

"Sure Sook, just a second." I nodded in reply and walked ahead of him to begin retrieving my belongings.

The office was in a mess with files and papers scattered haphazardly across every available surface including the visitor chairs. I chuckled quietly at Sam's sense of filing when it was tax season. I grabbed my cranberry pea coat that Eric had bought me last year. It still fit perfectly and looked as new as when I had found it in the parcel. The warmth enveloped me as I tied the belt and leant against the wall to wait for Sam.

"What's up Sookie?" Sam asked with concern on his face; it wasn't usual for me to need to speak to him after my shift. We were good enough friends that we just spoke through our work whenever I was near the bar, I even spent most of my breaks hanging around with him.

"I need to ask you a favour," I started uneasily. I had the vacation time served up but I would surely be leaving him on short notice.

"Sure, what is it?" He moved to sit on the edge of the desk; his legs stretched out before him and crossed at the ankles.

"I need some time off. Eric is taking me somewhere tomorrow for a few days so could I possibly have the next six days off? I know it's awfully short notice Sam, but he only told me tonight." His eyebrows shot up and a tight lipped smile decorated his ruddy face.

"You're fine to take the time off Sookie; Eric already called me about it a few weeks ago. The other waitresses are sharing your shifts between them." A grin broke out again across my face and I couldn't stop the spontaneous hug. I practically leapt across the small room to throw my arms around Sam's neck and hold him close.

"Thanks Sam," I said happily.

"It's okay Sookie; I just wish you weren't going with a vampire." Sam replied and I immediately went stiff in his arms but his hand kept awkwardly rubbing circles on my back. I'd been dating Eric for nearly a year and I'd assumed that Sam had gotten over his prejudices about vampires. It was clear to everyone that Eric was nothing like Bill and Eric actually got along with most people in the area which was quite surprising in a good way. I pulled out of his embrace and picked my purse up from the floor.

"Thanks for the time off Sam. Me and Eric are dating Sam, you can't stop this. I love him." With that I turned on my heel and walked out of the office, arms folded across my chest indignantly.

"Just be safe!" I heard him call from behind me just before the door slammed shut behind me. Shape-shifters were a stubborn bunch; Sam had had feelings for me for years and he'd suffered through one vampire boyfriend, he made it clear he didn't want to suffer through another one.

When I reached the parking lot I hastily found my keys and scrambled for my truck. Eric had purchased it last summer and we shared its use; it was one of the compromises I'd had to agree on, especially when my little old car had broken down suspiciously. I really couldn't blame that on Eric though, that had been the maenad. The journey home was quick even with the slick road; it had been slowly drizzling all night and the air held the promise of at least frost in the morning.

I parked the car at the front of the house in the pool of light coming from the security light and I wasted no time in climbing down from the high truck and rushing to my door; it was mighty cold. My keys were already clutched in my cold hands by the time I was on the porch. Just as Eric had said there was a cream coloured box, complete with blood red ribbon, lying in front of my door. I grinned and picked it up before quickly letting myself in. I'd barely gone three paces when the ball of fur that is Tina rubbed herself around my ankles in greeting.

"Hey Tina, you hungry girl?" I asked talking like you would to a baby. She meowed loudly in response and proceeded to follow me into the kitchen where she promptly sat in front of her bowl. I placed my things on the kitchen table and got her some food. She'd never grown out of her kitten wariness; she'd never been too curious and the only people she trusted were me and Eric. The time she'd met Sam she'd scratched his arm so badly he needed to have it bandaged.

I carried my things into my bedroom, which used to be my grandmothers, deciding that it was best to have an early night, especially since Eric wasn't able to come over. After showering I sat on my best and eagerly unwrapped the box, letting the ribbon form a small pile on the floor. Carefully I lifted the cardboard lid to reveal the crimson tissue paper underneath. Like a child on Christmas I pealed back the paper to reveal the jet black material of the gown. I stood up and pulled the straps of the dress with me, letting the bottom fall so it dangled straight down, giving me the full view.

The dress was gorgeous; thick black straps which would cover my shoulders gave way to a plunging neckline that would stop just the right side of respectfully sexy. A large star of silver beads decorated the front where the neckline ended and the cinched in band accentuated my waist. The skirt fell loose from the waist to the floor and I expected it would graze my ankles at least. The back was simple with no extra detail just a cut out back that mirrored the front exactly but without the beading. I couldn't wait to wear it; I would feel beautiful dressed up in a dress like that.

With my goofy grin still plastered across my face I slipped it cautiously back into the box and placed it on top of the chest where I kept the spare linens. After that I relaxed down into my empty bed. Over the past few months I'd become accustomed to sleeping in the arms of my vampire; we usually spent at least four nights a week at each other's house. Wherever we were, whenever I needed to sleep he'd crawl into bed with me, staying there until I was asleep. Every morning when he'd stayed over I woke up in his cool arms, pressed against his hard chest. He had the ability to make me feel completely safe and comforted even though there was no reassuring heart beat, no rhythmic breathing of even the warmth of living skin. He was the moon and stars to compliment my day.

Eventually I succumbed to exhaustion and let the lulling darkness take me into slumber. It only seemed minutes later that I awoke to a completely black room, the only light causing any illumination was the red light of my alarm clock and the thin sliver of light peeking out from underneath the bathroom door. I couldn't remember blacking out the room, which I only did when Eric was staying the night. I sighed with my frown and rolled over onto my back. That's when I became aware of the large arm thrown haphazardly across my stomach.

Turning my head I could see the outline of long blond hair splayed across my pillow. His sleeping face made a serene outline in the darkness and I could see he was completely without worry. I could imagine the brilliantly blue eyes if his eyelids opened and I sighed again before snuggling into him. I came across his bare chest; I couldn't resist pushing my nose into the hollow between his collar bones and breathing in deeply, letting his unique scent wash over me.

"Hello lover," he whispered into the quiet room, his voice groggy and full of sleep.

"Hi. Sleep," I replied as I wrapped my arm around his waist, pulling myself flush against the long line of his body. His body instantly relaxed again as he gave up the fight for consciousness.

It was only a few minutes later that I remembered what was happening tonight; we were going on a trip somewhere and I would be going on my fist airplane flight. The excitement I'd felt the night before flowed through my veins again and I couldn't stay in bed; I had to start packing.

By the time the sun had set I was ready to go. I'd woken up around noon and since then I'd packed my suitcase, probably packing more things than necessary since I didn't know what we'd be doing on our trip. My suitcase and the one that Eric had brought were now resting beside the front door with the box for my dress resting atop. The house had been cleaned and Tina's food had been placed down in a special bowl that would allow her restricted access to dry food. She also had access to the outside via her kitty door that I'd had to have charmed so that I didn't get any unexpected visits from shifters.

I was sitting on the sofa with my legs curled under me, reading one of my favourite books when I felt the stirring of Eric rising. Suddenly the dull emptiness of a vampire brain erupted like beacon in my mind, clearly stating that he was awake even if couldn't hear a sound from him. Two minutes later my vampire stood before me. His muscular body was dressed in his usual public garb of fitted jeans, muscle vest top, motorcycle boots and jacket all in black. One of his bronze necklaces was on show on top of the vest; the eagles claw whose significance he hadn't explained to me yet. I knew that underneath the black material of his vest rested a miniature stake of mahogany wood surrounding a silver centre and another chain holding a bronze anchor. It signified his strength. I also liked to believe it showed he had hope left in him.

"Are you ready lover?" He asked as he offered me his hand. I simply nodded in reply before I was pulled swiftly into his chest. His full lips met mine in a passionate kiss of greeting. Liquid gold flushed through me and I shivered at the sensation of him flush against me; the long line of his body pressed against my smaller frame. "Good. Come on," he reluctantly pulled away and ushered me through to the front door with a large hand on the small of my back. He gripped all the bags with one arm and we stepped out into the cold night air.

His shining red corvette was waiting beside my truck, the lights flashed as the doors unlocked. The sleek lines of the ZR1 identified it as his slightly older car, the one he'd been using since at least last year. I was restless with excitement as we began our journey to the airport and I simply couldn't sit still; if my hands weren't fiddling with the hem of my shirt my leg was bouncing in time to the music on playing quietly in the background. As we turned onto Hummingbird I realised I was anxiously awaiting a trip where the destination was still a complete mystery.

"Excited?" Eric asked with a small smile as he took a long look at me from the corner of his eyes. His body was completely relaxed as he drove with one, holding mine with the other.

"Yes, but aren't I annoying you?" I asked with my own smile knowing that Eric usually got quite annoyed by humans rather easily although he'd never shown that trait around me before.

"Not at all, far from it actually." He turned his handsome face towards me fully and let me see the full grin that was stretching across his oh so kissable lips. "I enjoy seeing you like this," he added, letting me see that his fangs were begging to elongate. He brought my hands up to his lips to plant an open mouthed kiss across my knuckles, letting me feel the hard press of his fangs.

"None of that, not while we're on a time schedule." I laughed, tugging slightly on my hand until he placed my hand back down, our fingers still entwined. The last time I'd given into him on a trip we were having to a fancy date over in Monroe we'd turned the car back around to head to my place before we'd even got there. Six hours later we finally realised we'd missed a date. Dang.

"As my lover commands," he chuckled and I laughed myself at the thought of telling my Viking vampire what to do; it just wouldn't really happen, especially not in front of other vampires.

"Where are we going?" I was unable to contain the curiosity in me.

"We're going to Dallas."

"Oh, why? I've never been to Texas before."

"Several reasons, I believe that it was what you would like to call our anniversary coming up. Of sorts anyway. It's nearly a year since I turned up on your door step with amnesia. It's almost Valentine's Day and Pam made me aware that humans like to celebrate the holiday." At least he was being honest with, although it did hurt to hear it, that Pam had had to remind him about Valentine's Day. But I knew a long time ago that my vampire wasn't a romantic sweetheart and he never would be, but he tried to do the best by me and all his efforts were appreciated. I loved him and I couldn't resent his very nature. He'd had over a thousand years to not be romantic or sweet, it was a long time of habit to break. "I also think it's time that I formally introduce you to a few of my colleagues in Dallas too."

"Colleagues?" I'd never heard him refer to other vampires as colleagues before, as far as I knew he didn't really associate with any vampires that didn't work at the bar.

"Yes. The Sherriff of the area is only a few centuries younger than me, it's the closest thing I really have to peers. If I was human I'd probably call them friends. I want to introduce you." I grinned at him. Sometimes for as supernatural and other worldly he seemed he still managed to do something that screamed human; he wanted to introduce me to his friends, as his significant other. I knew that it hadn't always been easy for him when people first found out about his human girlfriend, mainly because he was a sheriff and some wondered if I would take him away from his duties. I had not.

"There is something I need to talk to you about though." His words weren't filled with the emotion like they had a few minutes ago but his posture remained relaxed. My heart fluttered slightly at the words though, it seemed serious.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong as such. I just want you to keep your gift a secret. We're travelling on our own, into a strange area. I can protect you but it could be difficult if I did. I don't want other people to want you. Your telepathy would make an interesting addition to their collection of gifts." Eric had always been honest and open about my 'gift' where no one else had, not even Bill who had spoken to me about it more than anyone else.

"Okay." I replied because I honestly didn't have a problem with keeping my gift a secret; it would be easy to do around vampires and I didn't want to be desired by other vampires. Eric nodded his head before putting his foot down on the accelerator and we sped towards the airport, spending the rest of the journey in comfortable silence.

Half an hour later we pulled up at what looked like an abandoned army air field. There was a runway drifting off toward the horizon and a few hangars had open doors revealing empty spaces and a few old aircraft. The newest building was purposefully dull steel with a giant black dog's head painted on the side that I recognised as the Egyptian God Anubis. Eric grabbed our bags whilst I was staring at the few people milling around, obviously getting ready for a flight; there was a luggage cart, fuel tanker and the loud whirring of an engine was carrying on the cold breeze from behind the new hangar.

"Come on," Eric said as one of his hands landed on my lower back to usher me gently forward. All of our baggage was safely clasped in his other hand and we walked towards the workers.

"Where are we?" I asked with open curiosity when we were close enough to the people to see that there uniform bore the Anubis head logo. "What are you doing with the car?" It was completely unlike Eric to abandon his beautiful car without a care, which is what it looked like he had done, parking near the road where there were no other cars. Although I wasn't sure what I expected him to do with it as there wasn't a car park with the looks of things.

"We're at Anubis Air base for Louisiana North; it's the specialist vampire airline. Each state has a few though this is the quickest way of getting to Dallas although I could have driven easy enough. I also know you've never been on a plane before." I smiled up at him, showing my gratitude; he was giving me another experience I probably wouldn't have had at all if it wasn't for him. His arm slung around my shoulders, pulling my close to his body as we walked even closer. "It's valet parking, I'm just making sure it's out of the way properly, one of the staff will get it and put it back in the hangar after we've left."

"Mr Northman, welcome sir!" One of the attendants called when we were close enough to hear him speak without yelling, of course, for Eric that would have been back at the car. "What bags do you require checking?" He asked politely once we stood in front of him. He bowed deeply as he finished his words then looked up at both of us with a genuine smile. He was a mental projector and I could read straight from his mind, even with my shields, that this was his first week on the job, he still hadn't gotten used to seeing vampires.

"We'll carry everything on. When's boarding?"

"We're just about to start now sir, if you have your tickets you and your lady can go right up to the plane when the air attendant calls."

"Okay. Here are the keys for the car, be very careful." Eric stared at the man pointedly, causing him to audibly swallow before gently chucking the keys at his hands, so he couldn't drop them. We then turned slight and headed towards the back of the hangar where we could hear the engine.

As we turned the corner I could make a small crowd of people out, primarily vampires, waiting in seated area beside a small jet plane. The noise was coming from the engines mounted onto the wings of the reasonably sized jet black aircraft. The windows gleamed, lined with a gold paint, and the Anubis logo was painted in bold silver down both sides. My stomach dropped as I realised I would actually have to get on that plane and take to the skies, and humans just weren't meant to fly. If we were god would have given us wings. My excitement turned to anxiety.

"Are you okay lover?" He whispered directly into my ear, his lips barely brushing my skin but it still sent a shiver down my side.

"Yes, just nervous. I've never flown before. Humans don't have wings; I don't think we're meant to fly." I whispered back as I leant further into his side as we stood waiting near the other passengers. There were only about 20 people, with 18 being vampires, stood or lounging on the chairs, looking decidedly bored as they all watched the plane getting ready. There was still a rope over the staircase that lead to the door near the cockpit.

"You don't need wings to fly." Eric replied. Of course one of Eric's powers was levitation, much beyond most vampires achieved too; he was actually able to fly as I would define it. He could hover above the ground, but so could most vampires who reached a century, but what made Eric special was that he could manoeuvre quiet easily in the air and fly considerable distance. He could even carry me he'd once told for a little while without it being a drain on his body. Neither of us would want to go to Dallas in that style though. "I won't let anything happen to you. If anything happens to the plane I'll jump out of the door with you and float us to the ground. Or if need be, I could always fly the plane."

"You can fly a plane?" I asked loudly with shock. Crimson flared across my cheeks as a few people looked pointedly at us; probably hoping they wouldn't be sat near me on the plane.

"Yes. I learnt a long time ago and I'm sure things have changed. But I still officially have a licence."

I was still gaping up at him; just when I grew relaxed and thought I knew Eric quite well he went and through something at me to throw a spanner in the works, when the air attendant called everyone forward for boarding. All of the seats, once we finally got up the long staircase seemed to be first class; they all had a considerable amount of space, looked comfortable and weren't encroached by any other seat, although they were in laid out in pairs. The plane didn't even look like any of the jets I'd seen in the movies.

Eric led me to our seats where I was ushered into the one by the window, with the little flap for a window blind, allowing the sun to shine through, if it was up. "How come you can ride with me? Isn't it a little dangerous?" I asked, still staring out the window at the fields and trees that surrounded the air strip.

"Not at this time of night; the sun has only just set, its winter so the nights are long and the flight lasts less than half an hour. In emergencies and for day flights the plane can become impregnable to light and we have access to the cargo hold and coffins down there." I nodded my understanding. It was amazing how much thought had gone into planning this airline but I had heard charged a fortune for their first class service. Vampires could opt, of course, to go on the general public airlines, but it was risky and there had been a mishap that had people pushing for vampires to have to use Anubis for public safety.

"Would you like any refreshments before we take off?" A southern female asked without typical manners. I could see one puncture mark from a pair that peeked out from underneath her black scarf that was part of her uniform. I couldn't judge at all, I had a similar mark although Eric preferred drinking elsewhere, I preferred him to drink elsewhere too.

"Can I have a gin and tonic please?" I asked sweetly, knowing that I'd a little Dutch courage when it actually came time to take off.

"Sure."

"I'll take an AB negative please," Eric added.

We sat in silence, taking in our surroundings. Or rather, I took in our surroundings whilst Eric watched the reaction spilling across my face. After years of schooling my face of not showing emotions, I was finally beginning to relax enough around Eric to actually let them play on my features but it was difficult; my telepathy had given me a real incentive to practice keeping my face straight at anything. I jumped when the plane eased forward and my left hand latched onto the arm rest tightly whilst my right gripped Eric's forearm when we began to accelerate.

"Breathe," Eric whispered in my ear as his thumb stroked soothing circles on the back of my hand. My eyelids fluttered shut as I concentrated on my breathing; in through my nose, out through my mouth and repeat. It was only a few seconds later when I had my breathing under control and my heart rate slowing. The sensation of being thrown back into the seat, as the engines revved with power was actually exhilarating in rollercoaster, I'm going to die kind of way. The pit of my stomach fell away as we lurched from the ground, sending my eyes snapping open.

"Calm down," Eric soothed as he leaned into my ear so that only I would be able to hear him, "Sweetheart." He added and I couldn't resist grinning at him as he pulled me into his chest, transferring the death grip I had on the arm rest to the front of his shirt. "I'll keep you safe."

"I know." As I spoke the words they really began to sink in; of course Eric would protect me if anything should happen and with the realisation came calming down. By the time we were at what would be our cruising altitude my heart had returned to its normal rhythm, I'd downed another gin and tonic, but I was still wrapped in Eric's arms.

The rest of the flight passed by in a bit of a blur, it really didn't last very long, and I just relaxed in being surrounded by so many vampires, letting their silence wash over me. Although there were humans I was lucky enough for none of them to be projectors so I didn't have to try to keep them out really; I'd been working on my shielding with Eric's help. I only realised we were nearly on the ground when my stomach fell away from me again. "We're just landing," Eric stated simply as he continued to watch the ground rushing up to meet us from out of the window.

I am not ashamed to admit that I didn't see a second of the landing after I realised what was happening; I was too busy trying to keep my stomach still and not jumping every time the plane lurched slightly. I did make it though and before I knew it we were on the ground with the cabin doors open and Eric was no longer beside me.

"Come on lover," he softly ordered, pulling me up from the seat whilst he balanced all of our bags once again. Due to the plan being so short we were outside into the cold night air of Dallas, heading down the steps towards the waiting taxis.

"How come we didn't fly into Forth Worth?" I asked as I looked around, noticing that we were once again in a private air field.

"It's the Anubis air field, it makes security a lot easier for them, the Fellowship and other haters can't get to us here, they have guards that you can't usually see watching out for the passengers. It's much better when you don't have to deal with passport control, luggage claim or general queuing. I may be immortal for lack of a better term, and I may have forever to waste but I don't want to waste forever, especially not at luggage claim."

Once we were at the foot of the stairs we headed towards the line of taxis; all of the drivers were stood outside of their cars, carrying stereotypical signs with names scrawled across. The driver that bore the 'Northman' sign was standing beside a sleek black Mercedes Benz. Of course Eric wouldn't be happy with a normal taxi; the driver was even wearing a suit, it seemed we had a driver rather than an actual cab.

"Let me take your bags sir," the driver stated as we walked up to him with his arms already extended for our bags. Eric complied and opened the door for me before the driver got a chance to do it; I assumed it was usually his job given by the look of chagrin that briefly flashed across face.

"Where are we going?" I asked once we were belted in. Even Eric was wearing his seat belt which he didn't like to do if he wasn't driving, even if he was driving he didn't really need it. But when seated behind someone he always wore his belt, knowing that it would be too easy to slide forward, knocking the person in front.

"We're going to, Le Sang Dans la Nuit; it's the vampire hotel on the outskirts of Dallas. We'll be dropping our things off, getting changed and heading straight out to meet people. I scheduled the meeting for in two hours. Don't worry; their public lair isn't far from the hotel."

I watched as the downtown sprawl of Dallas passed by, looking very much like the suburbs of every other city I'd seen; strips malls passed by sporting similar shops to each other, residential areas with large lawns and SUVs parked on the drive with small parks for children mixed up the view. Steadily the area became more upscale with larger houses sporting hedges to obscure the yards with fences protecting the driveways. Up ahead, when I looked out of the windscreen, stood a low sprawling building that had a crimson, swirling sign across every side near the roof, _Le Sang Dans la Nuit_. We drew up to the curb and I could see the English name written across the awning that came out to meet the road, The Blood in the Night.

I'd read about this hotel before, it was one of two places in the Dallas area that catered to meet vampire needs specifically, the other being a vampire version of a Best western. The low sprawling buildings housed deluxe sweets that were completely light tight when necessary, with all the control being with the vampire for added safety. Each 'room' had an en-suite bathroom, living quarters and some even had small kitchenettes in case there were humans in the party. Simply put the hotel was a vampire equivalent of the Ritz, with the price tag to put even that hotel to shame.

"Right sir, I'll be waiting out front to take you to the next destination." The driver had turned around in his seat to speak to us and I was distracted when I heard the sound of the trunk popping, causing me to jump.

"Okay. It's just the bell hop Sookie," Eric added to me as he began to get out of the car, offering his hand to me.

Together we left the car behind to walk up the carpeted front to the large, blackened glass doors of the hotel. Large pillars rose up from the ceiling in the waiting area to meet the ornate ceiling that depicted scenes Greek mythology. Everything was in various gleaming shades of silver, gold and black with hints of red to add in more colours. The room was dominated with the large desk at the back of the room, just in front of the bank of elevators.

"We have a room booked under Northman," Eric stated as we reached the front desk, walking straight up to a waiting brunette assistant.

"Of course sir, we have you booking here. Second floor extended suite with extension for cohabitation with your human companion," the attendant replied with only a brief glimpse in my direction before she turned her full attention back to Eric. She was leaning forward against the desk, her full rapt attention on him as she made complete eye control. It may have been my imagination but I could have sworn she was sticking her chest out slightly whilst checking him out. My mental shields clamped down; I wouldn't be able to deal with hearing her thinking about my vampire.

"Yes."

"Right, here are your room keys, here are the keys to the inner bedroom, and these are the only copies so please keep them safe. You're in room 294 which is on the second floor; use the extreme left lift and go to the top floor; it will be on your left hand side when you reach the floor. Thank-you for choosing to stay with Blood in the Night."

"Thank-you," Eric said without looking back at her; he simply grabbed the keys and hurried us over to the elevators. We were already riding upward when he realised that I was stood a little stiffly beside with the effort it had cost me to clamp down completely on my shields. "What's wrong?"

"I didn't like the attendant," I replied honestly because if he really wanted to get something out of me, he could. He'd been known to tickle things out of me, relax me completely with sex and recalls something from hours if not days ago, to ask me about in our blissful peace. He'd never failed when he wanted to know something although he did respect me when he knew that I simply wasn't ready to talk about something or I was trying to surprise him.

"Why?"

"She was checking you out and I felt a little jealous," I conceded, looking down at the floor.

"Don't be, I have eyes for no one else. I admit though, I like that you get jealous." He chuckled a little as he pulled me into his side tightly, his arm around my shoulders.

"Why?"

"You know what I'm like with other males around you, particularly Sam. I like knowing that you feel the same, it makes me feel less vulnerable." He quickly kissed the top of my head before pulling back slightly just as the elevator doors dinged open and we were facing the hallway of the second floor. "We need to be quick, we only have an hour."

We walked swiftly down the hall way to our door, which Eric opened and I was left to admire the room as he entered before. The rooms seemed larger than the entire downstairs at my home and everything in the 'human' section was open plan. The small kitchenette was looking out into the living area with a partially blocked section for a small sofa bed, in case you didn't want to share the main bedroom with the vampire. Every surface gleamed and all the furniture was extremely stylish as well as looking expensive. The colour scheme was less extreme in here taking more subdued greys, reds and creams. At the back of the room an electronically locking door gave access to the light tight sleeping quarters for the vampires, beside which was the door for the bathroom.

"You can use the bathroom; I'll get changed in the bedroom. Here's your bag and dress," Eric smiled at me as he handed over my things before he grabbed his own bag and sauntered into the bedroom, giving me a wonderful view of his glorious behind.

I changed quickly and it was only twenty minutes later than I walked out of the bathroom with my make up perfectly in place, the dress gliding over my body as I moved and my hair was down in waving curls. Eric was lazing on the sofa, his legs up and crossed at the ankles with some form of magazine open on his lap. As always he was dressed in head to foot black but his jeans had been swapped for trousers, dress-y up boots graced his feet and the usual vest was a black button up shirt. He was still wearing his customary leather jacket though.

When he heard me walking into the room he looked up quickly and immediately his eyes softened and his jaw went slack. When he smiled at me, his fangs were extended, showing between his lips. "You look gorgeous," he whispered as he got up to meet me. Even I admitted that I looked good; the soft black material made my skin look creamy rather than pale as I'd expected and the tiny beads drew attention to my cinched in waist and cleavage in a classy way as it was a surprisingly modest cut. I was wearing silver three inch heals with ties that wrapped around my ankles , which allowed me to comfortable wrap my arms around his neck as he stood up to greet me. "Delectable," he whispered directly into my ear before kissing me deeply.

His lips brushed against mine and I relaxed into his arms. The hard press of his fangs worked to elicit a blue burning flame in the pit of my stomach. My tongue slowly teased his bottom lip before retreating back as soon as he opened his mouth. I sucked on his lip forcefully, letting my teeth dig into the tender flesh, eliciting a moan. Suddenly he pulled away.

"Sookie, we can't. I wish we could but we have to go." His voice was deeper than normal and he breathing which showed his excitement, his smouldering eyes staring into me.

"Can't we stay here? Meet everyone tomorrow?" I asked, letting the evil gleam enter my own blue eyes.

"No, I promised them tonight, and I never go back on my word. It's one of the few honourable traits I still have." He replied as he spun me around rapidly, his arms slinking around my waist as me pulled me roughly back against the long line of his body.

"You're an honourable man Eric, you have different standards to most people, you make your own rules but you do stick by them adamantly."  
"Trust me Sookie, there's nothing honourable about what I want to do with you right now," he whispered seductively in my ear as I was pulled flush against him, the evidence of his arousal clear against my lower back. I couldn't stop the moan from escaping my lips as my head fell back against his shoulder, lips towards his neck. "We need to leave now."

Before I could think Eric was no longer beside me but he was pulling me by our hands towards the door, his back held stiff as he shook his head minutely to clear it from the fog. I grinned knowing it was just me that was affected by our time together. It was also a good idea that I hadn't told him the dress made it impossible to wear underwear without the lines showing.

Thirty minutes later we pulled up outside a large house where people seemed to be gathering outside, under the marquees that were scattered across the lawn. Low music gave background noise and disguised the nature of the conversations to the outside world. Everyone seemed to be a vampire, their mental silence washed over me like a security blanket. Soon I was being led up to the side gate as the car pulled away with instruction to stay close so that he could be here in minutes if we needed him. Eric ignored small clusters of vampires, heading to the patio that stretched out around the house where a few vampires sat in comfortable metal seats with cushions.

"Eric Northman, long time no see," the male vampire of the trio greeted as we stood on the steps before the patio. The two females stood gracefully, both wearing gowns of blood red and black, to exit into the house not even bothering to whisper an excuse.

"Luca, it's good to see you again." The vampire, Luca, indicated the vacated seats that were placed around the small glass table which held wine glasses of True Blood. It was strange that they didn't do the usual vampire greeting of bowing their heads in respect of elder beings.

"Who is this delightful beauty you have with you then?" Luca asked and I finally took note of him. He was short, I could tell even though he was sat down, as his legs that were stretched out before him would barely reach as far as mine would. His dark hair was cropped close to his head and the shade matched his eyes, his skin was the typical luminous pale colour of all vampires. He had an air of power around him that showed his centuries. Eric had said that they were almost the same age, for some reason I'd imagined another Viking, but this man was something else entirely.

"Luca, this is my partner Sookie Stackhouse, Sookie this is Luciano, my oldest friend." I smiled in greeting, knowing better than to offer my hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, has Eric mentioned me at all?" We took our seats around the table, choosing the two closest together and so that our back was to the wall. Eric considered this a safe area but he was never truly relaxed unless he was in ones of homes, or his office.

"Not at all, I only found out about you yesterday," I replied honestly, glancing at Eric to gauge his reaction to my truth. A barely there smile was gracing his lips so that I knew he wasn't angry, it turned out that neither was Luca.

"Much like Eric, I don't think he's changed in all the centuries I've known him." Luca replied with a grin and a barking laugh; he showed more open emotion that any other vampire I'd met. "So Eric, do you have any other business in town or is it just a social visit?"

I had to admit that I switched off with the last sentence and took the time they were occupied to gaze around the garden. Everyone was smartly dressed in gowns of similar styles to mine, with every shade imaginable being represented in some form by somebody. There was even a petite female vampire wearing hot pink stilettos, a colour I'd never seen anyone actually wearing in real was only because my mind was wandering around the garden taking in the beautiful rose bushes and the lively green of the lawn that I saw the couple gazing at me intently.

I smiled at them briefly before turning my attention away. Several humans were dotted amongst the vampires and their presence was acknowledged by the table filled with food and drinks under one of the marquees. Heat lamps provided both light and sufficient heat to keep the cold winter night air at bay.

"Sookie?" Eric asked as though it wasn't the first time. My head flipped around to find him watching me with a slightly amused expression, indicating that my assumption was correct. "Sookie let me introduce you to Tali and Stan. Stan, Tali this is Sookie, my partner." I looked up to find the pair of vampires I'd found staring at me stood before us, grins greeting me but appearing more like a leer.

"Hello Sookie," Tali said, speaking with a strange mix of British and American accents, making it impossible to place where she was from originally. Her shoulder length baby blond hair was a rival for Eric's in paleness but it was nowhere near as long, and it was shaped more delicately around her face. Steel grey eyes that were almost bordering on blue gazed down at me from her pale skinned face so it was with slight shock that I realised she was human. Her impressive height actually made her taller than Stan; it would be interesting to see her next to Eric.

"Sookie," Stand greeted and he wasn't anywhere near as easy to look at. Put simply he gave me the creeps but it wasn't any one particular thing that gave me that impression; it was just him. His curly brown hair was short and he was dressed so much like a cowboy it would put Sam to shame; tan leather boots, blue denim jeans with studding down the sides, a black button shirt with tassels and even an actual cowboy heart perched atop his head.

Tali and Stan took the two empty seats and I realised that they were together, she was draped over his arm and I could see the bite marks partly hidden by the straps of her halter neck dress. Tali was seated nearest to me and she turned to face me with a wide grin on her face.

"Hi, I'm Tali, I know we were already introduced but still," she offered me her hand which I gratefully shook, liking the normal human thing in this sea of otherworldly habits.

"Hi."

"You having fun here? I love these party things, so many vampires hanging around, although of course, I only have eyes for Stan." Her voice took on her giggles, letting me see the happy personality underneath.

"It's okay; I've never been to one before. I'm surprised at how warm it is," I replied honestly. I'd laid my shawl on the back of my seat awhile back.

"They have the heating pumped up in the house and keep the doors open, then there are the lamps and I imagine something else too."

"How long have you been with your vampire?" I asked as I knew little of vampire/human relationships where the vampire involved was someone of power.

"About three years now, I was working the grave yard shift at the local blood bank to help pay for medical school. Stan came in looking to buy a bag of blood because he'd been injured, and it called to my instincts to help him out. We've been together since. What about you?"

"Just coming up to a year," I replied, keeping the details to myself. It was an unspoken pact between us that we would tell as few people as possible about his bout of amnesia, in case some people thought of it as a sign of weakness, of course it wasn't.

"That's sweet, it's your anniversary. You guys monogamous? We are now but I wasn't so sure about it at first. But he told me I could finish up with school and he helped me pay for it, so I agreed, best decision I ever made."

"Yes we are, right from the beginning."

"That's good, most humans around here aren't actually having a relationship with a vampire, and it's just sex to them. Do you want to know something?" She asked conspiringly, leaning in to whisper. It was pointless though, all the vampires in the garden could hear us if they chose to listen.

"What's that?" I asked with building excitement, it was great to be able to talk to another girl about vampires; I couldn't speak to any of my friends back in Bon Temps like this and Pam just wasn't great at conversation, I didn't know how to take most of what she said.

"Stan likes you!" Her remark shocked me. She wasn't jealous or uptight; she said it with a straight enough face.

"Really?"

"Yeah, he said something about you were different, as soon as you walked in here. I told him to grow up, that you already have your own vampire. Very nice by the way," she added. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the smirk on Eric's face; at least one member of the group we were with was listening in.

It was only five minutes later that I felt the pressure on my brain; a vampire was trying to influence me. The sensation to me is like being a sponge that's soaked up a lot of water; the vampire's mind is the hand trying to squeeze out the water, the water being my thoughts. Without even trying I'm immune to mind control but with the level of control I've achieved now I can sense the vampire it's coming from, like they're leaving their fingerprints on my brain. The water never leaves the sponge though, the pressure just builds.

As I focused on the invisible hands I was able to follow the winding arm up into the air and back to the vampire in question. Stan was sat looking at the vampire group as though he was part of the conversation but his mind was focused entirely on me. What he wanted with me was something I couldn't figure out. It was completely against the rules for him to try this at all and now he would realise there really was something wrong with me. I couldn't pretend to be under his influence as I had no idea what he was trying to get me to do.

"Are you okay?" Tali asked sweetly, taking in my paling face.

"Not feeling too good." I replied with a brief smile before turning around to Eric, placing my hand on his forearm. "Eric."

"Yes lover?" He asked with his face already looking concerned; he was still listening in.

"I don't feel too good."

"I'll call the driver; we'll go back to the hotel." He stated quietly to me before turning to face the group in general. "I'm afraid we will have to end this meeting here, Sookie isn't feeling too good. We shall return tomorrow evening as long as she is feeling better." He nodded shallowly to them in one go before standing up, gripping my hand and leading me down from the patio in the same motion.

"Bye Sookie!" I heard Tali call from behind me and I only had time to wave over my shoulder before we were at the gates, about to get back into the car.

"We'll talk at the hotel." Eric stated with finality. I didn't argue with him, there really wasn't much point, and we never did know who was listening in to us when we weren't in our own area.

"What's wrong?" Eric asked as soon as we were safely inside the confines of our hotel room. I'd spent the entire car ride worrying about what had happened back with the Dallas vampires and what would come of everyone's actions. Eric moved to stand before me, his large hands cupping my face as he stared down into my eyes; the concern easily readable in his.

"Someone tried to influence me," I muttered. Eric's face actually registered shock before he settled on angry.

"Who?"

"Stan." A deep growl emanated from his chest as his gaze drifted off into the distance. I shuddered to think what he was thinking about doing to Stan. "Tali told me he liked me for some reason, he knew I was different when we walked in. He tried to influence me, he knew it wasn't working. He's more interested now, but I didn't know what to do!"

"You did the right thing; it's safest that we got out of there. He should never have tried to enthral you, it's completely against our rules but we couldn't have explained that without explaining your gift. Stop you're worrying, we'll work this out." His thumbs stroked over my forehead, ironing out the creases from my frown. "I could speak to Luca about this; he wouldn't stand to see this happening with one of his own vampires. Luca respects me enough to not ask too many questions, I think."

"Okay." I wrapped my arms around his slim waist so that I could bury my nose into his chest, breathing in his unique scent, letting it calm me.

"Let's get you to bed. It's getting late." I looked at the clock and sure enough it was that strange time of night where it's no longer classed as late but not really classed as early morning either. I should definitely be asleep if I wanted to function well enough to cope with meeting the Dallas vampires again tomorrow. "Perhaps you would like to finish off something from earlier?" Eric asked. He was brilliant at distractions.

His lips met mine in a searing kiss that I couldn't resist. My fingers found themselves wrapped up in his long hair instantly whilst my lips pushed forcefully against his fangs; more than half hoping they'd break through the flesh. "You should know, I'm not wearing underwear," I giggled as I pulled away. Swiftly I was pulled against him and picked off the floor. My legs wrapped around his waist as his lips met mine once again. He walked us into the bedroom, not even bothering to look or feel where he was going.

Banging on the main room door woke me at some point during the midmorning. I stirred in my sleep, rolling over to snuggled further into Eric's chest. His arm, which was a dead weight around me, was oddly comfortable, making me feel safe in his embrace. The knocking sounded again and through my sleep addled mind I wondered how I could hear it at all when I was in the bedroom. I would discover later that it was an intercom type system so that humans could hear room service if they were sleeping in the bedroom with their vampire.

At the third set of knocks I realised the person wasn't going to go away on their own so I rolled sluggishly out of bed, forcing Eric's arm from around my waist. He had tightened his grip when he'd realised I was moving; even in sleep he wanted to keep me close. I slunk from the room swiftly as I was unsure if any of the windows in the main room had been left uncovered. I needn't have worried though as the room was only dimly lit from light spilling through closed curtains, the level being low enough that it wouldn't have even hurt a vampire's eyes.

"Who is it?" I asked irritably through the door as I peered through the peep hole. I was working on less than four hours sleep because although Eric had said I'd needed sleep, we'd been occupied until the break of dawn.

"Room service." The male on the other side of the door replied, smiling in the direction of the peephole. He was dressed in formal black with a package of some kind held in his grasp.

I opened the door and stepped aside to let him in. He swiftly walked passed me and it was only when I looked up after closing the door that I recognised the person. Calvin had been at the party last night, stood with people under the food marquee. His eyes held deep purple bags underneath, evidence from his complete lack of steel but otherwise he was a handsome man with his dark hair and eyes, a complexion that looked as though it was naturally tanned. He was handsome but he really wasn't my type.

"You're not room service," I stated dumbly.

"No, and you're not human." He replied as he chucked the parcel down onto the sofa, I knew now that it was only a rouse, a reason for him to be admitted to my room.

"Yes I am!" Why wouldn't I be human? I had the gift of telepathy but I was most certainly human.

"Well, you're not fully human. What are you?"

"I'm human!" I replied with a huff as I threw my arms around my chest in anger at the intrusion.

"Stan spoke to Luca last night." With those words I became instantly sick, knowing that this couldn't be any form of friendly conversation. My heart race spiked and I couldn't help but wish that Eric could be stood beside me. "They agreed that they can offer you protection. You don't have to deal with the hulking vampire any more, you can come stay with the Dallas vampires. It's honestly a good place to be." His lie was smooth and I hadn't been lowering my shields to pick his true motivation right from his mind I might have believed him.

"I don't need protection, I'm happy with Eric. He protects me. I want to be with him." _Eric!_ I called in my head, hoping that through his comatose sleep he could still somehow hear me. Since he'd had my blood he could sense when I was in danger, which hadn't been often, but he'd always felt it.

"I really didn't want to have to do this." I saw the flashes flickering through his mind; the chord that was in the parcel, his fist connecting with my face, his fists thumping over humans, the joy of when he was inflicting pain onto over and his even greater joy when a vampire would inflict pain onto him.

"You have to come with me little girl, you don't want to see me angry." He snarled as he stalked towards. I was matching his steps though, walking backwards with my hands held out with every step he took. "You want to see me angry?" I swallowed at the threat, knowing that I really didn't but not wanting to relinquish my power to him.

The scream left my lungs as I lunged to the side, desperately avoiding his attack. I went sprawling to the floor, evading his grasping hands with only a hair's breadth between my waist and his skin. My breath sped up, sending the oxygen to my brain whilst adrenaline coursed through my veins. I scrambled back until my arms hit the sofa but I still watched him. _Eric!_

He was crouched down staring straight at me. Suddenly he threw his head back and high pitched laughter peeled out. "This is going to be fun." He called out in sing song as he threw himself at me. I pushed with all my might on the ground and the sofa, launching myself onto the cushions. His long fingers wrapped around my ankle and it was in my instincts to lash out.

My right foot connected with his face, earning a grunt but the barefoot did little damage. "Oh no you don't," he called out as he gripped my other ankle, pinning my legs to the cushions. "Don't fight this, you're coming with me." He paused, staring at the bare flesh of my legs as I was only dressed in one of the Fangtasia shirts. "On second thoughts, fight me!"

_Kick your legs little girl, let me see under that shirt. You little slut, putting out for that hulk but not coming with me. I wish you'd spread your legs a little, give me a glimpse._ His mind was a cess pit of filth and I pulled myself out as fast as I could, slamming my shields into place. I'd rather not know what was going to happen to me. I thrashed about on the sofa, my legs barely lifting from the plump cushions. My arms pummelled down on his back ineffectually as I struggled, desperate to get away from him.

He put all of his weight onto one foot, pinning me more harshly to the sofa. His now free hand raised behind his body as he was half laid on top of me. His flat hand came flying through the air to land with an audible slap against my partly expose thigh. I screamed, wordless but filled with fear as the pain shot through my body. Wasp like stings erupted around the entire area as his hand reared back again. "Eric! Help!"

His fist connected with my legs again, this time getting the other thigh. Fire sprang up across the tender flesh but I still fought back; my hands pulled at his hair, ragging his head from side to side. "No!" The growling tone of my voice was alien to my ears as my fingers found his, pulling sharply on the weak flesh. His hand reared back again, his fingers closed and aiming higher. My eyes shut tightly, not wanting to see the blow as it fell on my face.

It never landed.

"You will not harm her," growled the bass voice of my saviour. Before me as boxer clad Eric had a death grip on my attacker's fist, gripping it so tightly that the skin over his knuckles was splitting from the pressure. The attacker's, I didn't know his name, face was contorted in agony. "Never come here again." That was the last he heard as Eric's large hand came flying through the air to land squarely against the side of his head, knocking him out cold.

Relief flooded through me as I realised I was safe, my vampire had come through for me. The attacker slumped to the floor at the foot of the sofa leaving Eric standing slumped behind him. His hair was a mess around his face that looked to be half asleep even as he stood crouched, ready for any more attacks. Silently he offered his hand out towards me. I didn't need asking twice. Nimbly but with shaking legs that still ached, I stepped over the knocked out man to reach my vampire, who led me back into the bedroom, locking the door behind us.

"Don't leave the room until I'm awake." He croaked out as he sat on the edge of the bed, fighting the sleep that was pulling him into the darkness. "Call the hotel security; they'll know what to do. Are you okay?" He asked finally. He wasn't awake at all; if he had been that would have been the first question out of his lips as soon as he'd got the attacker under control.

"Yes." I replied weakly as I collapsed onto the bed beside him. One of his arms snuck under my pillow whilst the other wrapped around my waist, enveloping me in his embrace so that I would feel safe.

I wasn't ashamed to say that I cried myself asleep. Eric fought the sleep for as long as he could but it was a losing battle that I knew he had no real control over. I was lucky enough that he'd been able to come through for me. It proved how much he really did love me for our bond to stretch through into his obligatory day time rest. It was hours later when I eventually called down for security. I made sure of my promise not leave the room, instead opting to stay safely in his arms for the remained of the day.

The attack had left me drained, shocked and downright scared that something so horrible could have happened in a supposedly five star hotel that prided itself on safety. When Eric awoke the next evening he said that if he could afford the time he would have yelled at the manager in person for hours, as we had to rush, he was going to have to settle for yelling at him over the phone for hours.

As soon as he awoke he made sure I was okay by checking out the places where I'd been hit. No bruises had been left, in fact no visible marks at all, not even tender flesh, but it did take a hot shower to feel like his hands were no longer on my skin. I was told by an angry vampire that would be leaving that night on the next Anubis Air flight out of Dallas that was heading to Shreveport, which happened to be leaving at 1am.

By eleven we were heading out of the Blood in the Night, to the car that was to take us back to the Dallas vampire's hideout; Eric had a plan, I just wasn't in on it. I was sure that would mean I wouldn't like it but I trusted him. I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for which ever vampire would face his wrath because his entire body was humming with the rage that filled every fibre of his body.

"Luca!" Eric growled out as he stormed across the garden, that was decked out exactly the same as yesterday, in search of his vampire friend.

"Eric! How nice of you to join us. Sookie, I'm glad you're feeling better." Luca greeted us happily as he walked out of the sliding French doors and onto the patio we were now walking across. "What's wrong?" His already pale face lost its entire residual colour as he noticed the expression of my vampire's face.

"Today one of your humans came to our hotel room; he threatened Sookie, saying that you and Stan wanted to keep her away from me and safe here. When she refused he proceeded to attack her, using violence. You are lucky she is not hurt." His voice was cold, dripping with venom.

"Eric, I assure you I knew nothing of this. I've never discussed your human with Stan at all."

"I believe you. Is Stan here?" His blues eyes, which had darkened to midnight, flittered around the garden, looking for the elusive vampire.

"No, it's his free night. His human isn't here either if you were looking for like punishment." Bile rose in my throat as I thought of Eric raising his hand to Tali in revenge for the attack that Stan had set up on me. It wouldn't be fair and it would only hurt the humans, serving no real justice on Stan.

"That's not what I want." Eric replied with disgust clear in his tone. I couldn't help the little bit of relief that swept through me as I was assured Eric would never use such a method of revenge. "If he's not here, I'll have to leave it for now. Remember that I hold grudges, Stan should never step foot in my area."

"You have my word that he will be severely reprimanded. This doesn't affect our friendship does it?" Some of the anger left Eric's body in the instant that he was promised reprimand on Stan for the attack but he was still almost vibrating with the pent up energy.

"He should be, severely. I sensed that he used influence on her, you know that goes against our rules." My grip on his forearm tightened, silently willing him to protect Tali. I felt strange about her, she'd been the first one to tell me about Stan's interest and I wondered at some point during the day if it had been her idea of a warning. "His human is not to be harmed. Now, we are leaving."

"You don't have to, it was the actions of one that spoilt your trip." Luca actually sounded sad.

"We _are_ leaving. Just remember that Sookie is mine, she is most certainly not to be hurt. She is under my protection."

My mind reeled as I was pulled from the porch, back to the car, by a still fuming Eric. His words had cut to the quick, sting deeply. He'd never uttered the phrase 'she is mine' before in such a manner, marking me as simply his possession. Bill had used it all of the time and I'd made it no quiet complaint that I detested its usage. I didn't realise we were driving off in the car until I felt Eric's cool arm around my shoulders.

"You said it," I whispered vaguely, knowing that he'd know what I meant.

"Yes. There was no other way to convey to them what I meant."

"But you know what I feel about that."

"I know, but I can't say I'm sorry. Saying that you're mine was the surest way to keep you safe from them in the future. I feel bad enough that I let you be hurt today. It's my greatest goal to keep you safe, today I failed."

I didn't look at him as I spoke but I could tell my hurting heart was melting at his words. He would be forgiven. "You didn't fail Eric; the man got me during the day. You have to sleep or you'll get sick. You saved me today, like you always do. I just hate being labelled as a possession!"

"Sookie, you are not a possession. I could never view you as a possession. This is the first time I've actually had to say those words, even though you know it would have been much easier for me to use them all of the time." He was speaking the truth; saying that I was his would keep me safe, especially with his place in the vampire hierarchy, but he'd refrained, using other methods and his simple authority to keep our relationship safe. "There's something you should know."

I finally turned my head to look up at him, sensing he was going to say something serious. He placed a gentle kiss on my forehead before whispering quietly, so that only I could hear, "You may be mine, but I am yours."

* * *

**Remember guys, I love reviews almost as much as I love the idea of snuggling with a naked Viking vampire. Hmmm... Anyway, reviews make me happy and I only got a few for the last update. Thanks for reading and all but I need to go sleep. It's no longer late in England but early morning. **


	4. Tea Cup Humans

**Hey guys, **

**So here's the next update. Brief summary – Sookie is looking after Coby and Lisa when Eric drops by unannounced, drama definitely ensues when Arlene finds out. This story takes place the December of the same year that CAM does, it's about six months after the end of CAM. So, as always I'm going to tell you what's new with me, whether you want to know or not lol. I have a date for next Friday after my maths exam with the Nordic guy I mentioned before, we ran into each other when we were walking dogs, he has a wonderful Collie. I was wearing my 'Team Northman' shirt at college today and one of the English language student teachers came up to me in the library and asked straight out why don't I like Bill. It started a conversation of nearly an hour whilst his class was doing independent study. I'm actually a little sad I don't take language anymore. Finally, I've been asked to do a fifteen minute recital during the interval at a pantomime that my old drama group is doing. It's Cinderella again, I actually played Prince Charming twice whilst I was there. I'll let you get on with the story now. Oh, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampires Mysteries. **

* * *

The wintery Tuesday evening had brought the perfect weather for snuggling up in my favourite fleece with a good book on my sofa. Outside the chill wind was blowing a gale and the promise of ice in the morning was clear in the air. The roaring fire in the hearth gave off a scent that reminded me of childhood, being read to by my grandmother, and the large, dancing flames gave off their orange glow to bathe the room in warmth.

The sun had set an hour ago but it didn't bring any sense of real joy or excitement; he was working at the bar and I'd had the afternoon shift at the bar so it was alone for the night. Shrugging off the strange annoyance I felt at not seeing him I snuggled further into my jumper, taking in a deep breath to let his scent wash over me. Underneath the jumper I was already wearing my pyjamas; one of Eric's t-shirts that had been abandoned to my bedroom floor that I'd pinched before he could retrieve it, yoga pants, woollen socks and my fleecy maroon jumper. The shirt still clung to his scent which was the reason I was wearing it; the soft material reminded me of safety.

I was just getting to an exciting part where one of the vampires in it was declaring his love for the dhampir when the phone began to ring. I had half a mind to just let the phone pick up; I wanted to know what happened next. Since dating vampires, or more specifically since Eric, I'd become interested in vampire fiction and I became oddly obsessed with stories about dhampirs, the child of a vampire and human. I knew such a creature was impossible but it still made for a good story. Sadly, I knew it would be rude to leave it ringing, so I sighed and reached over to the coffee table to pick up the cordless handset.

"Hello?" I asked, not quite keeping all of my annoyance out of my voice.

"Sookie? Oh thank goodness you're at home."

"Hey Arlene, what's wrong?" She was speaking much higher than normal and in a rush.

"You know I wouldn't ask if I didn't have to, but can you do me a favour?" I'd learnt a long time ago to always ask before agreeing when it came to Arlene's favours; she never did anything bad but she could a little advantage sometimes.

"What is it?"

"Can you look after the kids tonight please? I'm really stuck for someone," she pleaded down the other end of the phone, sounding truly desperate.

"Yeah, of course. How come you need a sitter at short notice?" Arlene was usually pretty good when it came to the kids and no matter how scatter brained she could be in normal life she kept it together when it came to her kids.

"It's Barry; he's been taken into hospital again." Barry was one of Arlene's ex husbands, I wasn't entirely sure which number he was, and it was also popular knowledge that he was suffering from years of alcohol abuse that had started when he'd left Arlene. I didn't think he was the kids' father though. "I'm still down as his next of kin, so I have to go see if he's okay. Can you just watch them for a few hours?"

"Of course Arlene, bring them over when you need to and I'll keep them over night if I have to. You go make sure Barry's going to be okay," I replied with my annoyance evaporated. Arlene and I still had a bit of a rocky friendship but I did love those kids, I hadn't seen them properly in so long.

"Oh thank-you Sookie! You don't know what this means to me, and Lisa has been asking after her Aunt!" I smiled at the thought that Lisa still cared enough about me to call me her aunt.

"Don't worry about it, you're in a pickle and I miss the kids."

"Okay, thanks, I'll be over in about half an hour, I was so close to having to take them to the hospital! But they won't have to stay the night, I'll be back to pick them up, I just don't what time."

"It's okay, just go get ready and I'll see you soon." With that we both hung up after a quick goodbye and I set to getting ready for having the kids over.

My house wasn't a mess by any stretch of the imagination; I kept the house very clean and tidy, as my grandmother had all of her life. But, there were bottles of True Blood in the refrigerator that I didn't want them to find, there was male clothing dotted around; Eric's jacket slung over the back of a chair in the kitchen, shirts on the radiator and a pair of flip-flops by the back door. I'd learned from past experience that kids were exquisitely inquisitive and they would ask many probing question at any of these things, simply because they didn't know I had a boyfriend. I'd rather introduce Eric when he was actually present.

I'd just finished tidying up and making sure I had all the ingredients to make a pizza when there was a knock on the front door. I cast my mental net, finding only the three brain signatures of Arlene, Coby and Lisa but it was always better to be sure of these things, one night only a few weeks ago it had saved me from a conversation from Bill. I opened the door to find all three of them stooped over, buried in their thick winter coats against the biting cold air.

"Come on in, you'll freeze out there!" The kids rushed in, flinging their small arms around my waist for a quick hug as they scurried past me. Arlene though, remained on the porch.

"I can't stay Sookie; I really need to get going."

"Do you know what's wrong with him?" I asked, trying to not sound too curious and nosey.

"No, they wouldn't tell me on the phone, I don't know if that's bad or good!" Her voice was thickening, her eyes were sparkling with unshed tears and he features were flitting between anger and fear. They may be exes but she still had some form of residual feelings for him, purely platonic she'd told me before, and she'd never truly forgiven him for running out on her and the kids. In hindsight him running had probably saved them a lot of pain.

"Come here," I stated simply as I opened up my arms, wrapping her in a big hug. "It'll be okay, just be strong." I squeezed her tightly and let my hands rub her back soothingly, just like what I liked when I was upset.

"The kids know I'm going to visit Barry, but they don't know he's in the hospital, just that he's not feeling too well. Don't tell them please."

"I won't, I promise. Now go, you know the kids will be fine here. I'll feed them and if need be put them to bed if gets too late. I send my best wishes for Barry." Arlene nodded in return and hurried off down the steps to her car. I could feel the confusion coming in floods from her mind, she wasn't usually a projector. I knew that once she was in her car she was fighting back the tears she'd been strong enough to hold in for her kids' sake.

I shook my head in sympathy, plastered a big smile on my face and went in search of the kids. They'd placed their boots at the foot of the stairs, their coats were hung up on the rack and they themselves were sat around the kitchen table talking together with giggles springing up every couple of seconds. For siblings, they really did get along very well.

"So you guys, you want some pizza?" I asked as I walked in. Their happy smiles told me that they did indeed want pizza so I set to getting out the things from the refrigerator and pantry. "Now, I don't buy that frozen stuff so we're making our own. You can have anything that I have here on it, so choose a third." Without being told they got up and washed their hands before joining me at the counter where all the things had been spread out.

They'd both grown so much since I'd last seen them properly; I wasn't counting serving them at the bar during their monthly meals out as seeing them, they'd been sat down as well so I hadn't noticed a change in height. Neither of them needed the stool anymore to comfortably reach the counter.

"So what have you been up to at school?" I asked as I spread the sauce along the base in a thick layer. Lisa, with her gorgeous auburn hair and cute freckles replied first in her girly voice.

"I got an A on a maths test!"

"That's great! Well done honey," I replied, not needing to fake my enthusiasm. I wasn't related to them by blood but that didn't stop me being proud of their accomplishments.

"I made the baseball team." Coby added as well, his dark blond fringe was hanging over his eyes causing him to look up steeply to see me. The last time I'd heard he'd been interested in football though.

"That's good Coby, you started practicing?"

"Yeah, I've had a couple of games as well. You should come!"

"I would love to sweetie; I and Lisa here can sit together, can't we. Are you not interested in football anymore?"

"Not really, the coach was mean and I didn't like him." We started adding our own ingredients to the pizza in comfortable silence, laughing whenever someone spilt something. By the time the pizza was nearly ready for the oven we had sauce and cheese everywhere.

"Did you hear that Sookie?" Lisa asked suddenly in a timid voice, staring out into the night through the kitchen window.

"Nope, what did you hear?" I'd honestly heard nothing beside our laughter and I hadn't felt anything with my mind, although I'd had my mental shields firmly clamped down.

"It sounded like someone was walking about out there." She pointed off to the side of the house, near where visitors usually parked their cars. The security lights hadn't been turned on as I wasn't planning on going out at all. All three of us stood watching the still night, listening for any noise.

That's when I heard it, the sound of light footfalls crossing the porch, heading towards the front door. I stood frozen, knowing that I hadn't heard a car engine cutting through the night and knowing that I wasn't expecting anyone. "Wait here," I told the kids with a smile on my face to try and reassure them. I scuttled from the room and into the hall to find the front door opening. A gust of cold wind whipped around me, sending shivers down my spine.

"Hello lover," Eric called out with a smile as he stepped through the open door, his keys still held in his hand. The door was shut swiftly behind him with the heel of his foot before he stalked towards me, the mischievous gleam present in his eyes.

"Eric, I have guests," I stuttered out quickly, hoping that he wouldn't do anything unusual in the presence of the kids. They'd accepted Bill very well but they also knew, on some level, that he'd been mean to me. I wasn't sure if they knew it was just Bill or thought that all vampires in general were bad. His eyebrows drew down in a frown as he seemed to grow distant, probably listening to find out who was in the house. I assumed he didn't bother checking to find out if I was alone before letting himself in the door. I'd given him a key awhile back for convenience; it was nice to come home from work to find a naked vampire waiting for me in bed. The conversations afterward were very nice too.

"Who are they?" He whispered as he grabbed my hands and pulled me into his embrace.

"Arlene's kids, she had to go visit someone without much notice and asked if I'd look after them. Why are you here?" I asked as the confusion of his presence truly registered; he was supposed to be working tonight.

"The bar was dead, so I cut out a few hours early." He chuckled, laughing at his use of 'dead'. Vampires really did have a strange sense of humour. With Eric it came from him being a thousand years old but at least he had a sense of humour. "Did you not want to see me?" He asked with a serious tone, his body stiff underneath my arms. For all his bravado and confidence he could still be a little timid at certain things.

"Of course I do, it's great that you're here." I stood up on tiptoes and placed a chaste kiss on his lips to emphasise my point. When his head swooped down to meet my lips again I had to back away, covering his mouth with my hand. At his startled expression I explained, "The kids are here. They don't even know I have a boyfriend yet. Come on, you'd better come and meet them. You scared us all a little. Behave." I added with my most authoritative voice that was only met by an amused expression.

Knowing that I had no real control over the following events I walked confidently into the kitchen with a smile plastered on my face. The kids were stood exactly where I had left them; both had their backs to the window and were staring wide eyed towards the door. My house had always creped them out on some level, it being so old so anything apart from the norm freaked them out a little.

"Don't worry, it was only Eric," I stated happily and the tension broke in the room when little smiles appeared on their sauce stained faces. "Come here," I said as I offered out my hand which Lisa gratefully took. They may know that Eric wasn't a danger anymore but he was still an intimidating person to meet; being so tall he always seemed to loom whether he meant to or not. I could only imagine how scary he could look to a small child, especially in his 'work' clothes.

"Coby, Lisa, I'd like you to meet Eric, my boyfriend. Eric, this is Coby and this is Lisa," I introduced calmly. "Now, let's finish that pizza and get it cooking." I spun around and set to preparing the pizza for the oven.

"Are you going to be helping us? Because we already divided into thirds." I internally cringed at Coby's question. I'd assumed they would know he was a vampire; they stood out so much from humans to me that I tended to forget it wasn't so for other people.

"No I won't, your pizza is safe," I heard him chuckle which allowed me to breathe again. I slipped the pizza into the oven and stood up, coming face to chest with Eric.

"They don't know?" He whispered quietly so that the little ears in the room wouldn't be able to hear. I shook my head in reply and got some cans of diet Pepsi out of the refrigerator for the humans; it was a good job I still had some cans left or I'd be giving them coffee. I shuddered at the thought of kids on caffeine; at least the Pepsi was no added.

I took my seat at the table with the kids, making sure there was a spare seat next to me for Eric. "Coby, Lisa?"

"Mhmm?" They hummed in unison, looking up expectantly.

"I want to tell you something. You should know that Eric is a vampire," I stated, I was hoping it was best to be blunt, I wasn't sure how to sugar coat it. "But he's perfectly safe." The vampire in question stopped in his tracks, he'd been on his way to the microwave with a bottle of True Blood. He stared straight at me with eyebrows raised and an amused grin on his face. So he wasn't exactly safe, I wasn't going to get into the technicalities with the children.

"Is he like Bill? He was mean," Lisa stated like her opinion on Bill's personality was absolute fact. Bill had always been great around these two as he'd had kids himself when he was human, it made me wonder what Arlene had told them. I also grew curious about Eric's human life; he was so old that I didn't really think about it much, but he was old enough to have had children when he was human, given the time period he was from. I'd also never asked him how old he was when he was turned; I'd guess at early to mid twenties but it was difficult to tell, it seemed people used to age differently centuries ago.

"No, he's nothing like Bill," I replied hastily. At that moment the microwave dinged and Eric folded up his tall frame to join us at the table.

"Trust me, I am not Bill."

"Can you trust vampires?" Coby asked quizzically while Lisa just looked between whoever was speaking like a tennis match.

"No." Eric replied honestly which really threw Coby for a loop. They were too young to know anything about vampire politics.

"Can I see your fangs?"Lisa asked timidly as she stared at awe at my vampire; she'd never had this reaction with Bill. "Bill never let us see them." I didn't know whether I wanted Eric to show them or not, but I knew that he would as soon as she mentioned Bill's name.

"Yes," Eric replied. I turned around to see him smiling at the kids, his fangs extended, which gave a rather unsettling image.

"Wow," Lisa whispered and she moved as though to reach across the table to touch him. Faster than we could follow Eric leaned back in his chair, his fangs retracting as his smile grew into a smirk.

"You can't touch I'm afraid, that's only for your aunt." My cheeks flamed at his words, hoping that the children wouldn't get the full meaning behind his words. Under the table I gave him a sharp jab with my left foot, which only caused him to chuckle. "So, how old are you two?"

"I'm 10, and she's eight," Coby replied proudly.

"Whoa, you guys are getting old. I'm over a thousand though, I may have you beaten." He laughed. Then his eyes gleamed suddenly as he thought of something, an honest smile crossing his lips. "What time period are you studying in history?" He asked and I had to admit that my ears perked up; he never really spoke in depth about the past. I could feel story time coming on though.

"I'm doing Egyptians," Coby replied and I felt some of the energy deflate from Eric.

"Well that's no good, I can't tell you about those. They're even older than me. What about you Lisa?" He asked, turning his full attention to the little girl who stared back with wide eyes.

"I'm learning about the presidents."

"Well that's not very interesting either. Would you two like to learn some real history?" He leaned forward again on his chair, taking a big gulp of his synthetic blood as he did so.

"Yes please," the kids chimed leaning forward as well. I stayed relaxed, watching the show before me. It was nice to know he could be good, I just found it very strange that he was good with children.

"What do you know about Vikings?" He rested him elbows on the table, his fingers laced until he realised I hadn't joined them in the conspirator circle. His right arm, the one that was closest to me, reached back to tug gently on my shoulders so he could pull me into his side. We ended up leaning comfortably against one another with his cool arm slung around my shoulders.

"Yeah," Coby replied excitedly whilst little Lisa nodded her head frantically.

"What do you know about Vikings?"

"They were like pirates! They had massive boats and they invaded England. But that's about it," he finished dejectedly, looking at Lisa to see if she knew anything else, she didn't.

"Not quite, we did have long boats and we did raid and invade, but it's not quite what most people make it out to be. Do you know we had faith and religion?"

"I thought they were mean people. Were you a Viking?" Lisa piped up.

"Yes."

"Are you mean?" She asked with her eyes glancing between the two of us.

"No, not to nice people like you two and Sookie. You guys are good and interesting," Eric replied as he gave my shoulder a squeeze. I had to blink to make sure I wasn't dreaming; it was a surreal experience sitting in my kitchen talking history with my vampire boyfriend and two kids.

"Good."

"We have several Gods and they are believed to live in Asgard. The chief God was Odin, he's ruler of several things, depending on what the individual believes. I choose to believe he is God of wisdom, war, battle, death and victory. One of his son's was Thor, the god of thunder, he had strength and determination. Characteristics that really counted." He paused in his little storytelling to pull his necklaces out from underneath his t-shirt. Coby and Lisa were both staring at him with rapt attention.

"This here," he indicated the brass hammer on the longest leather thong. The shining metal was etched with an intricate Celtic appearing designing, with twining swirls down the length and across the top. "Is a Thor's hammer charm, it represents power, protection, strength and honour."

"That's pretty neat," Coby exclaimed as he studied the design closely.

"That's really pretty," Lisa added.

"You'll have to let your Mom know, it's good for a little girl to have protection." I'd never seen this side of Eric before and it was really nice to see; good to know that he could be like this with other people than me. "Now, this one if something I acquired over the years, that has nothing to do with Vikings though." He thumbed past the tiny stake charm on another string. "This though, represents hope and strength." He pulled the necklace that was a metal I couldn't identify, it looked like silver but I knew it couldn't be, and handed it over to the kids to look at. It appeared to mean less to him than the other one.

"What's the other one?" Lisa asked, pointing at the leather cord still hanging around his neck, the pendant hidden under his shirt.

"That's an eagle's claw, I'll explain that when you're older." I was intrigued, I'd never been told what his pendants signified and my interest was piqued about the eagle's claw now. A resounding din sounded, making three of us jump and I realised the oven timer had gone off.

"Pizza is ready," I declared as I stood up, pulling reluctantly away from my Viking.

I was busy getting plates out and more drinks when I heard Lisa asking a question that could prove awkward. "So what are you getting Sookie for Christmas?"

"I haven't got her anything yet," Eric replied with grace.

"You should, you're her boyfriend, you need to get her something. She'll have gotten you something. She gives good presents. Last year she got me some books and a new story time teddy bear and that was only for my birthday!" Lisa chattered happily. I placed the pizza in front of them and stole a glance at Eric, who appeared to be deep in thought.

The rest of the meal passed by very quickly with the kids running off on tangents, speaking so fast that it was difficult to keep up. When the plates had been cleared I popped them in the sink for washing later. "Who wants to watch a movie?" I asked as I ushered them into the living room, hoping that they would settle down as it was starting to get late for them to still be awake. "You know where the DVDs are." They both scurried away, letting me pause in the doorway to collect my thoughts; I'd only had them a couple of hours but it was still tiring.

"Are you okay lover?" Eric asked as his arms snaked around my waist, his head stooping to rest on my shoulders. I'd never seen him this relaxed when we weren't alone before.

"Yes, just tired."

"Children are draining," he replied with an odd tone in his voice. I turned to look up at him, the question clearly written on my face. "I'll tell you later."

"How come you're so good with kids?"

"I had children when I was human and honestly I find them interesting creatures, there humans, but miniature. Tea cup sized. Like those poor excuses for dogs. I once saw a tea cup Yorkshire terrier run across the road, it looked just like a shaggy rat." He'd continued on with his speech but I hadn't heard the rest of it. He'd had children; he was a father.

"Oh Eric, I didn't know!" I cried quietly as I threw my arms around his neck, burying my nose into his chest.

"Know what?" He asked whilst his hands stroked soothing circles on my back.

"Can we watch the Lion King?" Coby called out, waving the DVD box at us.

"Sure," I replied, stilling hugging my Viking. "I didn't know you had kids when you were human."

"Sookie, don't be upset for me. It was centuries ago. I used to think I'd never forget them, a father's pride, and I still haven't forgotten about them but I don't think about them."

"Ever?" I gasped. Arlene told me that when you had kids your world revolved around them, that you'd undergo anything to make sure your kids had the best of everything.

"Well, days go by without a passing thought but every once in awhile something happens that reminds me. Like tonight." My grip on his neck tightened as I stood up on tip toes to give him a sweet kiss on the lips I'd wanted to kiss all evening.

"I'm sorry," I stated simply. I didn't know what to say to him, didn't know if there was anything I really could say.

"Don't be. We're talking about things that happened centuries ago. Would you like to know about my human life?" He spoke as though he'd never considered that a possibility.

"Of course."

"Then I will tell you, just not tonight. Monday, when we have the whole night to ourselves." I nodded my head. I laid one more kiss on his lips, which he of course tried to deepen, before pulling away and getting comfortable on the couch.

The kids settled down on the two seat sofa, pulling the blankets down from the back to wrap themselves up. Eric joined me after a couple of seconds, bringing the comforter from on my bed and Tina trailing in after him. She was oddly attached to the vampire to say that most animals despised them. The blanket was thrown over my legs and then he sat down, making me lean in against his side. His left hand slipped underneath the covers to push up the edge of the sweater I was still wearing so that he could rub circles on the soft flesh.

"Are you wearing my shirt?" He asked as the beginning notes of the Circle of Life began to play.

"Yes," I replied shyly. I was rewarded by my face being turned up to his by one of his large hands so that he could plant an open mouthed kiss on my lips. "Remember, I said behave."

"I know. But I like seeing you in my clothing, it's my possessive streak." To say it was a streak was a bit of an understatement but it was a common trait with all vampires.

We watched the movie in silence but my body still responded to his touch. His rough fingertips never altered their gentle stroking touches on my side but the small goose-bumps never left my flesh and I couldn't help wanting more whenever he place a kiss on my face, never choosing exactly the same place more than once. It was whilst I was minutely aware of his presence that I discovered something strange. He was mouthing the words to one of the songs that Simba was singing.

"You know the words?" I asked incredulously but quietly.

"Yes." He replied as though it was no big deal.

"Why?" It was so out of character for him, I was half surprised that he'd actually sat down to watch the film with us.

"Pam went through a phase a few years back. She was dating a woman who had only recently become a vampire; she'd been a child minder as a human. She liked to go to see kids' movies as they reminded her of her humanity. As a result Pam watched them in her free time at the bar to see what they were like. She happened to like the Lion King. It would be constantly playing in my office whilst she was there."

"Oh," I stated because there really wasn't anything else I could say to that.

Before the movie ended the kids were fast asleep on the sofa, their little mouths hanging open and their breathing deep which left me and Eric alone for all intents and purposes.

"You need to relax," he whispered into my ear as he grazed the skin there with a kiss. "I can feel your tension." I had been keeping my shields up all night in an attempt, that had worked, to stay out of their little minds, but it was strange for when I was around Eric. In the presence of vampires I could truly relax.

"You know what Lisa said earlier, you don't have to."

"What did she say?"

"About Christmas and you getting me something. You don't have to, don't feel obligated, you got me all of those lovely gifts earlier in the year." Of course, when I'd first received them I hadn't known they were from Eric.

"You should know by now that I never feel obligated to do anything, I do what I want to do, for whatever reason. I am getting you something though; she just reminded me that Christmas was so close."

"You don't celebrate Christmas?"

"Yes, just not in the same way as humans. I've been around for millennia of Christmases; I've seen how they're celebrated across the world and through the centuries. I can't do the typical humans things so I don't try. I don't exchange gifts with anyone but Pam because why do I need to? If there's something I want, I get it." I could feel his large shoulders shrug under my arms. I was now sat in his lap, where I'd been since Eric had noticed the kids were asleep.

"So what are you doing for Christmas?"

"Join me."

"What?" He'd put no context into his statement so I wasn't quite sure what he was talking about.

"For Christmas, come to my home. Share it with me." More of his usual self was seeping back, I could tell through the lack of actual questions.

"Okay," I replied happily. I wasn't doing anything for Christmas anyway. Jason had gotten an invitation to his friend Hoyt's house which just left me alone for the holiday. "I'll be right back, human time." I told him as I unfolded myself from his lap before padding down the hall to the bathroom.

I was just starting to wash my hands when I heard a sharp rapping on the front door, followed an instant later by the familiar creak as the door was opened. I sighed; this would get Arlene's dander up and we'd only just begun to get our friendship back. Even with my shields up I could tell it was Arlene at the door; her mental signature was so familiar to me. I relaxed my shields slightly then, so that I could hear what was going off, only because I knew the kids were asleep and I needed to know what I was about to walk into.

"Hello," I heard Eric's deep voice speak through Arlene's head. Surprise was the first thing that ran through her head at finding a man stood in my doorway although it was quickly replaced by shock as she came to the correct conclusion that he was a vampire. The bits of information she had was pieced together faster than I could follow, I wasn't even sure if they'd met before but I knew if they had it hadn't been in months.

"Who are you?" Eric asked after a couple of seconds during which Arlene had just stared, but through her fear she'd appraised. Confusion reigned through her mind for an instant; she couldn't stand vampires but right at this moment she was attracted to one in a very primal but strong way. I found that I was actually a little jealous, he was my man, but I squelched it down and continued to listen.

"I'm Arlene; you've got my kids in there!" She spoke with more confidence than she felt. "Who are you?" For the first time she worried about me. Although she shouldn't have. She'd pieced together that he was a vampire but she hadn't realised he was my boyfriend which was strange. Everyone around here knew of him if they hadn't met him; a six foot four man with long blond hair doesn't go unnoticed around here, people tended to remember and talk.

"I'm Sookie's partner," Eric replied coolly and the bile rose in my throat at what Arlene thought of his voice.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was rising in pitch as she found ground she thought she could argue on.

"I'm visiting Sookie," was his even reply, at least he wasn't losing his temper. I could catch glimpses of his handsome face through Arlene's eyes and I saw that his long hair was a mess from where my fingers had been running through it.

"Where's Sookie then? How come you're answering her door? She's supposed to be looking after my kids!"

I knew what she was going to do before she actually acted so I rushed from the bathroom, my hands long since washed. Stepping into the hall with my shields once more firmly in place I was just in time to hear Arlene call, "Lisa! Coby!"Then she did what I'd been dreading; she barged into Eric with all of her weight. Her petite body knocked into Eric but she hadn't built up much speed, having only been a few feet away. She did surprise him though with her actions as strange as they were, she couldn't have been thinking when she decided to tackle a vampire. I knew that she really hadn't been thinking of the consequences.

Eric's large arms wrapped around her shoulders as he stopped her passage. The movement looked almost automatic reaction. Eric reminded me of a guard dog in that moment, one of those long haired German Shepherds; cute, cuddly and affectionate with the owners but a bit of a monster when it came to outsiders. His fangs were extended when he glanced at me over the top of Arlene's head; I shook my head at him, willing him to not do anything that I would regret later.

"Let go of me!" Arlene screeched as she tried ineffectually to brush his arms off of her. With her words acting as a catalyst, he pushed her away, less roughly than he would have done with anyone else, so that she went stumbling across the deck.

"Mommy?" Lisa asked as she poked her head around the living room door.

"Lisa, get away from there now, come here!" Arlene shouted frantically, gesturing wildly at the little girl who looked on in confusion.

"Why?"

"It's not safe in there sweetie, he's a vampire!" she replied, beckoning Lisa forward, towards the porch.

"But Eric's cool! We watched a movie and he told us about Vikings!" Her voice was fully of excitement as she remembered her evening, she even went as far as to walk up to the door and clutch onto Eric's t-shirt.

"Lisa, stop that. Vampire's aren't safe!"

"He said that we were safe, he doesn't hurt good people. He said I was good."

"Lisa's right mom," Coby piped up, walking into the hall with his own mask of confusion. "Eric told us all about Vikings and which Gods they worshipped. Then we all watched the Lion King." He shrugged his little shoulders as though it was a normal evening, surprised that his mother was acting this way. He went up and stood beside Lisa, her protector by her shoulder.

"Sookie, you should have told me you had a boyfriend."

"I did."

"You should have told me that you had company tonight at least. I don't want my kids associating with vampires!" I could feel the tension building in Eric as she continued to speak, he did not appreciate being talked about without respect or like he wasn't even there.

"Arlene, I'm only going to say this one, so listen, please. I didn't know Eric was coming by tonight, he dropped by when we were making pizza. I wasn't going to turn my boyfriend away. The kids like him, he likes the kids. We all had a good time tonight, didn't we?"

"Yep," Lisa replied with a tired smile on her freckled face. "He's going to be getting Aunt Sookie a Christmas gift now!" Confusion was once again dominant on Arlene's face, before she stuck it on the back burner and took a firm grasp of her anger.

"Come on kids, we're going. Sookie, thank-you for having the kids."She said stiffly as she made motions to hurry the kids along.

"Thanks Aunt Sookie," both the kids chimed as they gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. It was Lisa who turned to Eric, an expectant look on her face as she gazed up at him, craning her neck to do so.

"Thanks Eric," she said sweetly as she opened her arms. When Eric didn't move she simply hugged him around the hips, the part of his body she could reach before turning away. What happened next surprised everyone, I think it got me the most though.

In a smooth and graceful movement, he stooped down to the child's height so that he could wrap a muscular arm around her waist. He picked her up and spun her round so that high pitched giggles erupted from her mouth. "Now go," Eric stated as he plopped her back down the on the ground, laughter still trilling out of her.

I stared in complete shock of him, barely registering that the kids slipped their shoes on and scuttled out of the door to their hysteric mother. They peeled down the drive way with screeching tires, the little ones waving out of the window; it was only due to autopilot that I was able to wave back.

"What the..." I began. Eric shut the door behind him and turned around to lean against it with his arms folded across his hard chest. He only smiled in return. "Why did you do that?" I stuttered.

"With the girl?" He asked, even though he knew perfectly what I was talking about, so I didn't even bother to nod, which did earn me a smirk. "She wanted a hug and I wanted to annoy her mother because her mother was annoying me. I thought I'd give us both what we wanted." He chuckled as he stood up straight with a jerking motion, as though he had thrown himself forward. "Going to bed?" He asked his voice deeper than normal as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. I couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Not yet, watch the rest of the movie with me?"

"Of course," he replied. I turned around and headed into the living room, getting comfortable on the three seat sofa. I was moved a few seconds later as Eric settled in to lie behind me. He pulled me tight against the long line of his body so that I wasn't near the edge, then he slung his arm around my waist, resting his head on his free arm.

There really wasn't that much left of the film but I enjoyed it, snuggled up on the sofa with my vampire, the fire still crackling in the hearth although it was mainly glowing embers now. It was just as my eyelids were drooping and my head was lolling back against Eric's chest when the phone broke my content for the second time that night.

"Hello?" Eric asked softly in his deep voice as he answered my phone quickly, probably trying not to disturb me. "Sookie?"

"Mhmm," I replied sleepily, finally opening my eyes to find him looking down at me, his deep blue eyes only inches away.

"Arlene wants to talk to you, she promised not to shout," so that at least explained why he hadn't hung up on her.

"Okay," I replied although I didn't bother to sit up, I just took the phone from his hand. "Hello?"

"Sookie, it's Arlene, I need to talk to you."

"What about Arlene? It's late and you already said your piece," I replied with a sigh, she may have promised not to shout but she could still start an argument.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry, the kids were talking about their evening all the way home. I want you to know that it's okay, I believe that you really didn't know and I can't expect you to turn your boyfriend away."

"Thank-you."

"But, I need to know in advance as much as possible, you don't know what it's like to be a mother. You need to know everything about them, all the time."

"Okay Arlene, I'll try. Don't keep the kids away this time, I missed them."

"I won't, I don't think I could do it to them either, they missed you. I have to say though Sookie, he seems better than Bill, he protected you. Plus, he's hot!" I giggled at her admission and the jealousy didn't spring up again this time; I knew she wouldn't do anything and I was also pretty secure in the knowledge that Eric only had eyes for me.

"Trust me Arlene, that one I do know!" I was still looking up so the broad smirk on Eric's lips told me that he'd heard every word.

"Right, I'll let you go now, it is late. But, we need to have a girly day or something soon."

"We do. How is Barry?" I felt sorry that he was an afterthought, but with the tense events that had occurred when the kids had been picked up I think I could be forgiven for forgetting.

"He's going to be fine; he called the ambulance in a bit of a panic because he was on his own. They're going to release him tomorrow."

"That's good."

"Yes it is, now, I'll see you at work. Good night Sookie," she called cheerfully, obviously less playing on her mind now.

"Goodnight Arlene," I replied. The phone was pulled out of my hand then before I could even hang up. "Do you have to go?" I asked as I rolled over to face him so that I could bury my face in his neck and sling my arm around his slender waist.

"I'm going to stay; I'll head over to the bar at sundown tomorrow." He'd evaded my question but I didn't bother to pull him up on it, I wouldn't win an argument about that and honestly; I wanted him to stay.

"Good," I mumbled. His lips laid gentle kisses along the part of my neck that was exposed above my jumper and I couldn't resist extending my neck, giving him more access. "When did you say you were going to tell me about your life? Oh, and what you meant about the children."

"Next Tuesday, you should book the night off work if you're scheduled." He paused for a few seconds, as though contemplating something. "In fact, take everything off from next Tuesday, stay with me over Christmas." Even half asleep as I was, it was so comfortable on the sofa, I recognised what could be the double meaning of his works. If I'd let him, I had no doubt that he would try to follow through with a literal meaning.

"Eric, I don't know if I can afford that much time off, plus do you really want me hanging at your place for a week?" I pulled back reluctantly to look up at him, to make sure he was telling me the whole truth.

"I want you around Sookie. If you're worried about the money, you can use your gifts. The new staff haven't been checked out properly, there's one that I don't trust. I'll pay you for your time; I'll match what Sam pays you."

"You sure? I don't like being a kept woman Eric." I'd had this particular conversation with Bill many times, he'd never handled with such aplomb that Eric did though.

"You won't be, I'll make sure you earn it. If you still don't feel like you've done enough you can help out at the bar in general too. Customer service would be brilliant for you; you can pluck it right from the clients what they want to make the bike better."

"Okay then."

"You'll spend the week with me?"

"Yes." I replied happily as I felt his lips dancing along the skin of my neck once again.

* * *

**Remember, I love reviews almost as much I would love to snuggle on the sofa with a certain Viking Vampire. *sighs*. So what did you think? I love to hear what you guys think of these stories. What would you like to read next? Anything you want to read about that I've partially explained before/ Anything you want in Eric's pov from CAM? Thanks guys, you really are great. **


	5. Dirty Laundry

**Hey guys, **

**Sorry this is a short update, brief over view is Eric's trying to do his own laundry. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. I got Dead in the Family the other day, I've already read it and I have to say that although it's good, I don't think it's her best work, but oh well. Season 3 of true blood starts tomorrow, damn I wish I was in America, but have you guys seen the six clips they released? Damn AS has a mighty fine body, if those tracky bottoms were only a little lower. **

**Who are you guys supporting in the world cup? I'm backing the USA, they drew 1-1 against England tonight, woo! I got quite a few funny looks wearing my USA flag vest today at the filling station; everyone around me seemed to be in footy shirts. **

**I have four exams next week – general studies, core 3 (trigonometry and calculus), chemistry and core 4 (further calculus and algebra). So with that in mind, updates are probably not going to happen much over the next week, although I have another, longer short story almost finished. On that note I want to apologise to atotabc, this short doesn't contain the snippet I sent you, it'll be in the next update. I had a mental block on that and I wrote this in the mean time. **

**I know the chemistry of dyes, particularly azo compounds and how they attach themselves to fibres if anybody's interested. I doubt you are though, but it's part of the chemistry test I have, which is also how I came up with this idea. Random bits, I'm going to be posting some of my piano recital stuff on YouTube at some point over the next few weeks, went to visit the new dog today, absolutely adorable and that's it, on with the story! **

**

* * *

**

"Honey I'm home!" I called out with a giggle as I walked into my house, knowing full well that Eric was waiting inside for me somewhere, I could sense his mental signal. I walked into the kitchen and placed my bags on the table top, before slipping my jacket off of my shoulders to drape around a chair. I'd stopped in at the grocery store on my way home from Merlotte's which I was home so late after sunset.

"You know I don't like being called that," a voice whispered in my ear an instant after strong arms wrapped around my waist, making me squeal with fright. "Hello lover," he greeted after a couple of seconds of just holding me. The strange thing was his body was full of tension; his muscles were hard where I could feel them pressed up against me, much more so than anything I could have anticipated from my greeting. He knew I only called him that for fun when there was only us two around to here, I thought he'd gotten used to it now, as long as I stayed away from 'baby'.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked as I turned around in his arms, my own snaking up to wrap around his neck. He bent his head and laid a soft kiss on my lips, breaking away though before I really had time to respond.

"Yes," he replied a little tersely.

"Okay then, I'm going to go get changed and then start making some food, you want a true blood?" His usually bright blue eyes had a harsh edge to them tonight, even in the gentle glow of the overhead light in the kitchen; I was going green and using energy saving lights so they weren't all that bright until they'd fully heated up.

"No, I'll grab one later. I'm going to go finish something up, I'll join you soon." He placed another kiss on my lips before turning away and stalking back towards the back porch, doing what I couldn't even guess, the only things I kept out that way were my spare garden furniture, shed out back and laundry facilities in the screened in section.

I shrugged the strange behaviour off, knowing that he'd tell me later if I asked again. At least he probably would anyway. I changed out of my summer uniform, lamenting that it was almost time to pull out the trousers and boat neck as the weather was beginning to take a decidedly cold turn. I would miss my tan; I even took time to admire the honeyed glow of my legs and arms as I changed in the bathroom, only bothering to put on my pyjamas. I was in such a good mood that I forewent the usual long yoga pants in exchange for some cut offs and a tank top.

"Eric?" I called as I padded back to the kitchen, my stomach's grumbling rushing me along.

"I'm nearly done," he called back through the slightly open back door, sounding as though he was on the porch.

"Okay." I shook my head at his weird antics and turned back to trying to sort out my dinner; boiled potatoes, chicken and pees. It was a little boring and plain, but it provided me with everything I needed, it also gave me enough time to go and find out what Eric was up to.

I walked as silently as I could to the back door, knowing that if he was paying any form of attention to what I was up to he'd be able to hear me coming. It was just a natural instinct to sneak while trying to creep up on someone, even if sneaking up on a vampire was next to impossible unless you were a vampire yourself. I slowly peered around the edge of the door frame, thankful that the door itself was open wide enough because like nearly everything in my old home it creaked when it moved.

There he was, leaning over the washing machine with the top open and bits of material that I later recognised as his shirts hanging half in and half out of the hole. His strong arms were braced at the corners as he stooped his great height down to read the instructions printed on the underside of the lid more closely. It was a gesture that he didn't really need, his eyesight was and would forever be better than twenty twenty, it was one of his few residual human gestures.

"What are you doing?" I asked quietly, my voice breaking through the silence of the night much more loudly than I'd anticipated. He didn't jump of course, didn't hit his head like it would have done if my life was a movie, all he did was turn around to look at me, an unknown expression across his features.

"Nothing," he replied evasively as he stood up to his full height, only partially obscuring my view of what laid behind him which was another basket of worn clothing.

"Eric," I cautioned as I took a couple of steps towards him so I was just in front of him, another half a foot and we would have been touching. "What are you doing?" I asked again, wearing my determined face although I was actually holding back my amusement. It looked a lot like he was trying to do laundry. Why I didn't know, I was pretty sure he had a cleaner or something that did this kind of thing.

"Laundry," he replied barely looking me in my eyes, his vision more centred just over my left shoulder.

"Okay, why are you doing laundry?"

"Ginger usually does it during the day; I take everything over to one of my back up houses and she gets everything sorted, she cleans as well in those places. I have a regular cleaner for my home though."

"Next question, why aren't you doing laundry?" He'd been out here much too long to be getting through with everything and there wasn't anything in the dryer which would indicate he'd already gotten one load done.

"I can't figure it out," he replied with an embarrassed expression, I'd never seen him wear it before. It was however, too much for me to hold in any more and I chuckled lightly, still managing to keep something inside. The big bad Viking vampire had been stopped by a washing machine.

"You can't figure it out? How long have you been trying?" I managed to regain control, holding my laughter in as I knew it was insensitive, it would be almost a physical pain for him to feel like he had any weakness, no matter how insignificant it was.

"Since I got here, about twenty minutes after sundown." He sure had been an early riser today, it was a twenty minute drive the way he handled a car from his usual home.

"What's the problem?" I chose to be diplomatic, ignoring my gut reaction of giving sympathy as I would have if it had been a human, this was Eric. He wouldn't appreciate sympathy and it would probably make it worse so I chose the only way I thought my help; solve the problem and he no longer has a weakness.

"I followed the instructions on the lid, I found all the detergent but it isn't going correctly. I checked half way through the first load, to make sure it was going right. Take a look for yourself."

Looking inside the washer I discovered that the load was a mixture of colours, albeit dark colours primarily. However I saw the problem immediately; there were two red Fangtasia shirts mixed in along with the only two white vest tops he owned. The problem though was the vests were no longer white, but a pretty shade of baby pink. He would look fabulous in them.

"Right, these are going away," I stated as I pulled the offending Fangtasia shirts out of the mix, popping them on top of the dryer; I couldn't recall ever seeing him wearing them. "These should be forgotten about too," I added as I pulled the pink vests out, throwing them over the railing of the porch. "Don't mix colours, which should be pretty easy for you. Black stuff together, be careful with reds, I'd advise to wash them on their own. Whites should be washed together too. Everything else is right." With that I pushed the lid down and startled the cycle from the beginning.

"I never liked those shirts," he declared, indicating the Fangtasia shirts.

"I didn't know you wore them," I added as we walked back into the house, heading for the kitchen where I could hear the potatoes beginning to boil.

"I don't, but a drunken patron spilt a drink down me the other night and that was the only shirt around. Pam designed them."

"Don't worry about it, you can do it yourself next time, although I have to say, watching you try to do laundry was brilliant." A small growl came out of his chest even though he was smiling at me, the tension from earlier forgotten. "I just can't imagine you doing certain things," my food seemed to be cooked so plated it up and went to sit down at the table.

"What can you imagine me doing?" He asked with a slight leer in his stance. I could only smile in reply, watching the visions flit through my head.

"Oh lots of things."

"I'll show you something to help your imagination when you've eaten." I risked illness with how fast I ate.

* * *

**So what did you guys think? Any chance of a review? I've barely gotten any for the past couple of updates; you know I love them nearly as much as the prospect of dirty deeds from a Viking vampire. Thanks for reading. **


	6. Hunting

**Hey guys, **

**I just want to apologise about how long it's been between updates, I'm usually much better than this as you all know but I had four exams this week, well three that really count as one was General Studies. As you can imagine I spent a lot of time focusing on those with revision. My next real exam though is next Friday. There's nothing really changed with me, I've had a very boring life this past week. I did however manage to find the first episode of True Blood 3 online, (I'm in England and I don't have cable or anything), and OMG! It looks like this series is going to live up to the last. Aerosmith have played two gigs in the UK this week and I didn't get to go to either due to exams, Aerosmith are in my top four favourite bands. I've seen the other three, so it's just Aerosmith left. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. On with the short story!**

**

* * *

**

"Please," I begged as his hands ghosted across my bare flesh. Glancing down I could see his midnight blue eyes staring up at me in rapt attention whilst his hands sent shivers running continuously down my spine. "Eric," I moaned as he laid an open mouthed kiss on my stomach, letting his tongue lick gently at my flesh. My head was thrown back at the teasing, my hands gripping the sheets beneath me.

"Look at me," he whispered, his voice so low it was bordering on a growl. I obeyed, staring down as his long body hovered over me, not quite touching. My hands relinquished their grasp on the sheets to grip his face, pulling his head to mine. I kiss him with passion, the heat searing between us as our tongues danced together. It was only when I felt him thrust inside me that I pulled away, gasping at the sensation of being so full.

His hands were everywhere as he found a rhythm, so much so that I couldn't keep my eyes open. My eyelids fluttered shut, too much sensory stimulation for me to deal with. "Watch." He commanded and it was all I took to gain some control. I opened my eyes to reveal his face only inches away, the lust and love evident in his eyes. His long, flowing hair was cascading down over his shoulders, putting us in our own cocoon of blond locks. The fangs that I adored so much were elongated, as they had been for hours, I couldn't stop myself from leaning upwards to bring his mouth to mine.

I felt the hard pressing of his fangs against my lips as our lips locked. My tongue snaked out to play with the sharp peaks, dancing with danger. A moan was my reward for sucking harshly on his bottom lip, letting him feel my teeth. I needed more of him. I wanted to be inside of him.

"Bite," I groaned out as he changed his angle, his body rubbing smoothly over mine. "Please, drink." I begged again, knowing that it excited him; it worked on me too, feeling like he was in control.

His lips trailed soft kisses along my jaw and down my neck until he found the vein that I could feel throbbing with my pulse as my heart pumped frantically. He sucked on my flesh, pulling a large lump into his mouth. The pressure bordered on pain, he was an expert at walking the line. Then, before I realised what he was doing, the sharp points of his fangs bit down into my skin, freeing the pressure at once. Blood flowed freely into his mouth, the pleasure swam through my veins as he began to suck and roll his tongue over the wounds.

My hands ran up into his hair, holding his head again my neck as he drank. I moaned as my pleasure increased as more of my life flowed into his. This is what I needed. This is what Eric needed. He pulled back after a few seconds, my blood smeared across his lips, gleaming from his fangs. His thrusts became stronger and yet I still needed more, I was dancing on the brink of bliss. My hands, which still gripped his hair pulled his head down to mine once more.

"Lover," he whispered before his lips crashed into mine with his tongue darting into mine. I could taste my blood in his mouth, on his tongue, as we kissed. It was what I needed; knowing what the kiss did to him it threw me over the edge and into the abyss. As I screamed his name he followed with his lips still kissing mine.

"Sookie," Eric whispered into my ear an undeterminable amount of time later.

"Hmm?" I was too content to respond properly as I was in one of my most favourite places. I was curled up in the Eric's warm bed at his home in Shreveport with one of his arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly into his side. My right arm was thrown onto his torso, bent so that my fingers could gently play with the light hairs on his chest. My legs were entwined with his. Simply put I was luxuriating in the feel of his naked body pressed up against mine and I was perfectly comfortable and perfectly happy.

"What do you think about when you have to come over here to Shreveport?" He asked and I was thrown out of my perfect serenity by the strange question. I glanced up at him, not bothering to move my head from its place in the crook of his shoulder.

"What do you mean?"

"How do you feel about having to come all the way over here?"

"Well I don't do it all the time; we spend more time at my place for a start. But I don't mind; I don't have to come here, I choose to come here so that I can see you."

"So there's no down side for you?" He probed a little. His fingers were playing the strands of my hair.

"Well of course; the traffic can be dreadful and it's a half an hour drive over here. It's tiring sometimes, when I've just got off of work or if I'm at work early. It could be a lot worse and I'd still do it though." I replied with a shrug before placing a kiss on his chest.

"I have a proposition for you," he stated after a few seconds and I couldn't help but giggle softly; he didn't usually give me a warning before hand. "Not that kind," he added whilst his fingers lightly tickled down my bare side. "Promise to hear all of it first." It wasn't a question which meant he was being painfully serious. I couldn't stop my heart from picking up pace to thump in my chest.

"I promise," I replied because what else could I really say?

"Good." He placed a gentle kiss on my forehead before pulling me back to his side tightly. It was oddly disconcerting to be talking so seriously without being to see his face.

"I've been thinking and this arrangement is starting to become a little tedious for both of us." I gasped at his words; I couldn't understand where they were coming from or why he was choosing this moment to voice his opinion. He was speaking for me as well yet he had no idea how I truly felt so I opened my mouth to speak up but I was silenced by his forefinger resting on my lips. "You promised." He chastised softly. "It's nothing bad. I've wanted to sell one of my houses for awhile now, or more favourably rent it out. This situation of events has proved to be a catalyst in my thinking. I want to buy a home between Shreveport and Bon Temps. I want you to move in with me." I was speechless.

"What?" I stuttered, letting all of my emotions leak into my voice. I pushed up and away from his chest so that I could rest on my elbows, finally able to see his face. Tension had filled his previously languid muscles no doubt from my reaction but he still looked honest and sincere. "What?" I asked again, finding nothing else that could even begin to portray what I was feeling. He wanted us to live together, in a new home.

My mind was a convoluted mess of swirling thoughts as I tried to think through what he'd just asked me. We'd been dating for months, and if this was a standard human relationship the next logical step would have been cohabiting but this wasn't a standard relationship. He was a vampire, I was a human, and would it be practically possible to live together? I wasn't sure we'd really see each more than what we did now. Without thinking over any of the complications or factors my mind screamed to say yes to this man. The fact that really clinched it for me though was that I just wasn't ready to leave my grandmother's house, I couldn't say goodbye to my memories yet.

"I don," I didn't get any further than that before he cut me off with his finger over my lips again. I could tell my eyes were burning with my desire to speak and with the startled shock of what he'd asked me.

"I'll explain further. I didn't think you'd be ready to leave your home properly and I only know a fraction of what you think of that place." Sometimes he seemed to know me better than I thought I knew myself, it was always shocking when he came out with one of his insights. "We don't change our routine much, but instead of coming all the way to Shreveport we go to our home. You can go there when you want; I can go there when I want. It would be a safe haven for us. The nights we normally don't get to spend together because of travelling we can. We still have our own space."

"You've thought about this a lot." I stated as mind began to pick over the new pieces of information.

"Yes. I had a feeling you wouldn't want to move straight in with me so I thought about a compromise." He really did seem to know me too well; he was also remarkably good at getting what he wanted.

"You asked me anyway though."

"Yes, I may know you well but I can still hope. Sometimes you shock me beyond belief, I had to see what you would say." He shrugged his large shoulders, his muscles less tense, before the serious expression returned to his handsome features. "What do you think?"

"I think a lot of things. Without considering the factors, I want to scream yes." A bright smile spread across his lips.

"I can make you scream yes again if you want." I slapped his chest lightly, his tone wasn't right for his usual joking self.

"You know what I mean. Plus that's without factors. I can't leave Bon Temps, it's all I've ever known, I definitely can't leave fully. I won't quit my job at the bar. I don't think I can let go of my memories of my home yet. I don't know. Can I have some time to think?" The strange question wasn't without humour though; I was asking a vampire for time, they had more than enough to spare.

"Of course. Now, would you like time to think right now," he grasped my small hand in his large ones so that he could lay a lingering kiss on my palm. "Or would you like a distraction so that you can start thinking clearly later?" He placed another kiss on my palm, this time his tongue darting out to briefly dart across my skin. I knew I shouldn't give in, but I wanted to give in. I think my undoing was that I wasn't ready to think everything through; he offered the perfect get out of jail free card.

"Come here." Before I could begin to think what he actually wanted his strong arms picked me up so that I was lying on top of him, the covers still hanging around my shoulders. "Better." My heated skin was flush along his long body and feeling his hard muscles underneath me was extremely comfortable and comforting. "Sookie?"

"Yes?" My arms were folded across his upper chest, the side of my head resting against my forearms as I stared up at him.

"What happened to you when you were younger?"

"Huh?" I asked eloquently, I couldn't think of what he meant for a few seconds until realisation came rushing to me. Uncle Bartlett. "You're in a strange mood today," I remarked, trying to change the subject whilst also speaking something that had been on my mind.

"I don't think so," he replied sounding as unsure as he really could.

"We've been busy for hours and the two times that we stop you start up heavy discussions, you usually have the discussions whilst clothes are on and then unwind from the conversations without clothes."

"That may be so, but stop avoiding the question." I'd alluded to a little of what had happened when I was little when Jason had mentioned something about Uncle Bartlett a few weeks ago. He hadn't pressed me for information at the time and I'd assumed that I was safe, but it really was time I told him everything.

"What do you want to know?" I asked quietly; I could feel the shadow growing across my eyes.

"About you? Everything. You interest me like no other woman has. What happened with your uncle Bartlett?" He brought one of his hands up to stroke my free flowing hair away from my face, working to sooth my tense body as well.

"I don't know how small I was when everything started; my parents were still alive so I was maybe five. My mother didn't want to believe me so she didn't, she never told my father and I just couldn't tell him. I was his little girl and he was my hero, I didn't want him to think that less because of the things that were happening. So it continued, he was my grandma's brother so we saw him a lot. Every time he visited he found a way to be alone with me. I could hear everything that he wanted to do; sometimes I even got the graphics. It was horrible." Without my consent a tear began to roll down my cheek to be wiped away by one of Eric's thumbs.

"Don't cry, I won't let him hurt you anymore. You're safe with me, you know that?" He held my face in his hands so that I had no choice but to look straight into his tender eyes. It was moments like these that I truly had a grasp of the emotions, of the love, he felt for me.

"I know, it's just difficult to talk." He nodded his head and went back to brushing strands of hair back from my face, the repetition easing my frayed thoughts. "It went on for at least a year. It started out with just stroking my face, then he went to my arms, my legs, my thighs. I could see what he wanted to do with me. Eventually, just before my parents died he was touching me around my, "I struggled to find the right word, not wanting to give Eric the wrong impression. It had been years since these things had happened but they still haunted me, I didn't like people knowing about it for fear that they would blame me. "My pubic region. When I was staying with my grandma, it was only a few weeks after my parents' funeral, Uncle Bartlett came to visit. I didn't know about it and the first thing I saw was what he intended to do to me that day, I picked it right out of his head from two rooms away. He was justifying it by saying he hadn't been alone with me for so long. I did what I could think to do at such a tender age." I paused to calm my breathing, letting the memories come flooding back so that I could tell them to him.

"Go on Sookie," he whispered, using my name instead of 'lover' which he hardly ever seemed to do.

"My grandmother found me and I told her what he'd done. He of course denied it but she believed me, she cut him out of our lives completely. She gave up her own brother for me, for what I told her even though she couldn't prove it. I found out later that there'd been a similar incident with my aunt, but it hadn't been anywhere near like what had happened to me. I had nightmares about it for hears; I'd wake up in the night feeling like someone was touching me all over, sometimes even inside me." I shuddered at the memories. Fortunately they hadn't haunted me in a long time, the last time had been when Bill had cheated on me and I'd been feeling very sorry for myself, allowing these memories to resurface on their own.

"How did he touch you?" Eric asked, his voice taking on the deep growling tone that showed his anger.

"What? I'm not answering that Eric, I honestly don't really know anymore either. I blotted a lot of details out." I was aghast that he could think of such a thing.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I meant, did he actually touch you inside? Did he rape you?" He asked with his voice barely audible.

"No. That's what he wanted to do the day that I hid." Tears were rolling freely down my cheeks but I'd been lucky, there were children out there that hadn't been as lucky as me.

"Good. Don't cry." His thumbs were back to stroking over my cheeks, wiping away the salty liquid as they spilt from my eyes. The sobs never came though; I felt too safe wrapped up in him like this. "I could kill that man for doing this to you." He growled out a few seconds later and I realised that his fangs had run down, I could see them as he spoke and the tiny tell tale bumps on his upper lip.

"You can't," I replied coolly, that had been sorted out a long time ago, Bill hadn't even voiced what he wanted to do, he'd just simply done it.

"Why not? He hurt you in ways that I can't really imagine. I could rip him limb from limb whilst his heart still beat."

"He's dead. Bill killed him."

"Well, at least the pathetic excuse for a vampire did something worthwhile." The juxtaposition of his words with his tender movements were startling.

"Why would you say that?"

"It's what I am lover." At least we were back to 'lover'; this conversation wouldn't last for much longer, at least not about Uncle Bartlett. "It's written in me to kill him for what he did to you. I know you wouldn't like it and I wouldn't actually kill him because it would alienate you from me. I would terrify him though; he would never dare to even think about hurting anyone else." I softly smiled up at him. He was fighting a millennia's worth of instinct all for me.

"Can we not talk about Uncle Bartlett now? Please." My tears had stopped rolling about the same time shock had registered at his clear desire for killing someone, but I hadn't moved from my position of lying along his body.

"Okay, I have a feeling you won't like this either."

"What is it?"

"Something else I want to know. If it helps, think of it this way. We need to have these conversations; you can have them in one night and get them out of your way. We have two more hours before sunrise; I expect to have you in my arms, peaceful, beautiful and resting well before then."

"Okay then," I replied even as my body relaxed against him at merely the thought of being snuggled up to him. For the big bad vampire he portrayed he sure could give very nice hugs. I had the feeling it wasn't natural for him though and his actions were brought about because of his feelings for me, and therefore, his actions were for only me.

"Who was your first?" He was right, I didn't like where this was going. "I had feared it would have had something to do with your experience as a child, but I was thankfully wrong. So, who was your first sexual partner?" He spoke without even a hint of embarrassment, in fact his voice had dropped and his intonation was perfect as usual, with just the hint of his accent peaking through.

"You won't like my answer, but it was Bill."

"He was good to you?" I couldn't believe he wanted to hear these things; he was so protective and possessive over me, I'd assumed he wouldn't want to even think of things like that, things involving someone else other than him.

"Yes, he wasn't all bad Eric."

"I think we'll have to agree to disagree there lover," Eric replied with an almost chuckle.

"I'm not defending him; I'm just saying that in the beginning of our relationship he was good."

"I'm better than Bill." He didn't pose it as a question but I could hear it in his voice; he may be a vampire but he was still a man. He needed his ego stroking occasionally, even though it already seemed to be inflated most of the time.

"Much. Not even on the same scale," I replied. I leaned up, my hands flat against the slightly bulky muscles of his chest, to kiss his lips, letting my tongue dart out to dance with his. When I pulled back his lips were pulled into a devilish smirk, the mischievous look in his sparkling eyes making me nervous about whatever he was planning. "What?"

"Nothing." I raised my eyebrows at him pointedly until he continued. "Bill's supposed to be stopping by Fangtasia later this week on his way back to Bon Temps from South America." I hadn't even realised he'd been gone this time, I also couldn't recall him mentioning an impending trip to me. Something told me that Eric had had something to do with that. "I was just thinking how much more bearable it will be to face him now. Will you do me the honour of joining me?"

"No." I'd already been witness to one of their fights over me, I wasn't about to walk up to Bill on Eric's arm to flaunt, no matter how much I wanted to do it, it simply wasn't right.

"It was worth a try. So, as Bill was your valiant guide to sexual bliss, what did he teach you?"

"What do you want here? Touch by touch or generals? You might want to ask a question and I'll just respond with yes or no." I could feel heat beginning to flame my cheeks at my words, so unlike me.

"Okay lover. Did he drink from you during sex?"I nodded my head but he seemed to have already known that answer. "Where did he drink from?"

"My neck, it was always my neck." My voice became raspier with each word as vivid memories flashed across my mind from other places that Eric had taken blood from.

"Did you ever have anal sex?" His hands skirted down my hair to gentle stroke up the line from hip to shoulder, both hands running the same motion.

"No and I don't want to either."

"It can be pleasurable lover, trust me on that. For both people involved." Was my reply but my body shuddered at the thought of being taken in such a way.

"I do trust you, but I still don't want to. Sex with you is more than enough." A large grin spread across his lips again at my words, no doubt his pride and ego were growing further.

"I will never make you do anything you don't want to. Did he ever share you with anyone? Ménage a trois?"

"No. Can you really imagine Bill sharing with me with someone? Honestly I don't want to try that either, and never have done." I nodded my head to emphasise my point and I saw the edges of his lips tweaking.

"Why don't you want to try it?"

"Because I would only want to try new things with you and I'm not going to share you. You have plenty enough for me." My fingers danced along his pecs as I let my words sink in, stooping my neck to lay a kiss on the centre of chest. "Do you want to do these things?" I asked suddenly, worried that this may be the reason he was asking; I was a human could I really fulfil him for long?

"Not really. I've done them before but I have you lover, as you put it, you are plenty for me. Now, I think it's time for you to rest. I can see sleep gliding into your eyes." I was gently moved from on top of him then, to lie beside him. A moment later the bedside light was switched off and I felt his bare chest brushing up against his back as he folded his tall frame around mine. His strong arm slunk around my waist, pulling me in tight against him so that his mouth rested just above my ear.

"I love you," he whispered before placing a barely there kiss on the part of my neck just below my ear. My heart still flip flopped in my chest every time I heard those words spill from his mouth.

"I love you too," I replied sleepily. I hadn't felt tired before but now my body and mind were already walking the thin line between waking and sleep.

"You are mine, I am yours." He added. It had become one of his favourite things to say whilst we were alone; it gave into his possessive streak whilst allowing me to feel like I was maintaining control. Deep down though, I liked feeling that I belonged him in lesser way than most vampires meant it. I loved knowing that I had the same control over him that he did of me. He really was _my_ vampire.

The next morning when I awoke it was to a perfectly still and dark room, only my deep breathing breaking the silence that I truly loved. Eric's arm was still wrapped around my waist although he was now laid on his stomach, limbs stretched out in a spread eagle manner. I couldn't imagine him sleeping a coffin like a lot of vampires actually do and like he sometimes has to; it made my joints ache at the thought of tucking up his tall body for so long. Stealthily I slipped out from under his arm and out of the bed; he had developed the habit of tightening his grip if he realised I was leaving. If that happened my only option was to rouse him enough to let me go, which is no easy fete, trying to wake a vampire during the day. I grabbed a pair of pyjama pants from my drawer and pulled his shirt on over my head when I found on the floor before padding into the kitchen, still rubbing sleep from my eyes.

When I opened the refrigerator door in search of breakfast I expected to see the typical disarray of True Blood bottles strewn around on every shelf with a few bits of food that I could actually eat scattered in between. When I actually found surprised me in a very good way; all the bottles were quite ordered, only occupying one shelf with lots of different groceries taking up the rest of the space. Two different types of juice sat in the door side by side with the milk carton, fresh food sat on the top shelf, meat products on the bottom shelf. There were easily enough ingredients to make a proper meal. Smiling I grabbed the bacon, eggs and sausages, deciding to give myself a treated.

When I placed everything on the counter for my cooked breakfast I discovered something else rather startling; new appliances were dotted about on the work top. A programmable coffee maker that was just whirring to life, grabbed my attention first as the bitter scent of coffee percolated through the air. Other things that were standard in a human's kitchen were there as well but it was the most nondescript item that really got to me. There, nestled between the windowsill and the counter, was a wooden breadbin with an honest to God fresh loaf inside. I giggled happily to myself; he was really trying, before making my breakfast that would now be accompanied by toast.

An hour later I found myself sitting in Eric's leather office chair in the study, trying to figure out his computer. You know you're behind on times when vampires can work modern machines better than you. Fortunately, I'm a good problem solver and I found the word documents rather quickly; it was now time for my list. I knew I couldn't move in with him fully but that didn't stop me from desiring it. He had spoken the truth yesterday; I needed to organise my thoughts and start fresh, the best way I knew was to create a pros and cons list. I just hoped it wouldn't turn out the same way it did for Ross and Rachel.

Among the top of my pros list were things like being able to spend more time together, it was true enough that our journey times seriously ate into our time spent together. The fuel I'd save would be a great help on my funds and my car would probably last longer, of course I usually used the truck now anyway. Overall, if you looked at this side of the list you'd wonder why I wasn't looking at houses.

On the downside however there were two major points stopping me from nipping home, packing my bags and moving in here straight away. I couldn't leave my grandmother's house but I'd essentially reasoned that out; he'd suggested a partial move. I'd still have my own space and I wouldn't have to say goodbye to my childhood home. The other thing seriously stopping me was almost shameful; it was my pride.

If I was to share a home I would expect to pay my share of everything and I simply didn't have the funds. Even if I had some funds available I wouldn't be able to afford that extravagance that Eric was accustomed to living in. Right now it surrounded me; I was sat in a leather chair working on a brand new computer even though he hardly ever worked here, preferring to spend his time at the office in Fangtasia. This place, although only consisting of one floor, was bigger than both floors of my home. Every wall room was freshly decorated; the floors were all shining wood and covered with fur rugs. I couldn't afford anything like this. I could take extra shifts at the bar but it still wouldn't be enough to cover what I'd need, not even enough for bills. Resigned, and hoping that Eric had a solution, I shut down the computer and returned to the bedroom.

It was already early afternoon and given the time in winter, the sun would be setting soon. I'd only been lounging in the living room on the plush sofa for just over an hour when I heard the tell tale signs of movement coming from the bedroom. I popped my book down on the coffee table and drew the blackout blinds so that it was safe for him to leave the room. Twenty minutes later he exited wearing only his jeans, a t-shirt over his impressive shoulders and towel drying his long hair.

"Hello lover, did you have a good day?" For all intents and purposes, in that moment we were just like any other couple seeing each other in the evening, wondering how the others' day had gone.

"It was good; I did a lot of thinking. Thank-you for the kitchen," I smiled at him, taking in the taught muscles on his stomach that would forever be on the verge of a deeply etched eight pack. For me they were perfect; showing his muscles and strength without being bulky. They were also fun to run my fingers over.

"Good," he smirked as he noticed where I was looking. He disappeared for a couple of seconds to come back without the towel; I could only assume he'd chucked it into the washing machine. "Did you come to a decision?" He asked with his eyebrows raised before pulling his shirt swiftly over his head. It was deep blue.

"I think so," I replied. I swung my legs down from the sofa before patting the cushion next to me, inviting him to sit down. He did so without question, choosing to sit close to me with one leg stretched out before him, crossed at the ankles and completely relaxed. I loved being with him when he was like this, it was the real Eric. I could find hints of the person I'd first fallen for in him clearly at times like these. Of course my love had changed, evolved with the full personality but I still had special feelings for those early days.

"You won't like this, but I don't think I can move in with you." I started out, not wanting to just say no when I really wanted to say yes, but I was not going to be kept, I would not simply be a trophy on his arm.

"Why?" He asked with all of the emotion drained from him, he sounded slightly hollow. I knew that he hadn't expected this; he knew I'd be stubborn about it but he hadn't expected a refusal, I had an inkling that he'd wanted to ask me before but had waited until he thought he wouldn't be rejected.

"Earlier I wrote a list of the pros and cons, there were many more pros than cons."

"Then live with me," he sat up straight, his knees bent. It was a goodbye to the relaxed persona from only a few seconds ago.

"Wait, let me explain." He nodded his head in affirmation. "I do want to live with you. I wasn't sure if it would work, a vampire and a human, but you showed me that you can adapt and I can adapt. We could make it work. I'd love to spend more time with you, somewhere we can be alone together and be relaxed but the cons seemed to be weightier than the pros. I can't leave my grandmother's home, and I can't rent it out, but you already thought of that so I'm not going to be considering that much anymore. I realised earlier that I would expect myself to pay my way, I wouldn't let you keep. I'd need to pay my share but I can't do that. I don't physically have enough money to do it. So, I can't move in with you."

"Lover, you won't like what I'm about to say either. But that seems like an excuse to not live with me, no matter what you say about wanting to. You're scared to take the next step. Probably understandably. I won't let you back out of this for such an almost trivial reason." He paused for a quick breath, during which he saw me balking at the last bit he'd said, a strange emotion washed over his face, it looked almost like regret. "You know I didn't mean it like that. I know it's important to you; trust me, I understand pride. But I won't let it stop us." His face grew determined as he stared into my eyes, their only similarities was that they were blue. His were a deep blue shade, true blue with sometimes a hint of green, mine tended more towards steel. When he looked at me like that I couldn't turn him down, I knew in my heart it was what I wanted. I realised he spoke the truth as well, I was scared, at least a little but it honestly wasn't the only thing stopping me.

"I promise that if we can find a solution that lets me pay for my share, I'll move in with you gladly." I leaned towards him, cupping his face with my small hands, letting my words sink in for a few seconds until I bent my head to his and kissed him.

The kiss was sweet, soft and caring, our lips working perfectly together as my flesh yielded to his, giving him everything I had. Soft flesh moved together as we continued to kiss, no rush in our movements but our bodies were getting closer with each second. When I finally had to break away, gasping for air, I was sat in his lap with my arms wrapped around his neck with his hands enveloping my body, holding me tightly to him.

"Then I promise to find a way." He laid a more forceful kiss on my lips letting me feel the hard press of his fangs before he laid his head back, resting it against the back of the sofa.

"Are you okay?" I asked as my fingers traced down his neck, along the tendons that were stood out at the stretch.

"Yes, you drive me wild lover. I'm just calming down." A few seconds later he lifted his head, his fangs retracted and a smile spreading over his lips as he gazed at me. "Will you do something with me tonight?"

"What is it?" I questioned cautiously, it wasn't a good idea to agree without knowing the details when dealing with vampires, no matter how close you were to the vampire in question.

"Come looking at houses with me tonight, don't question it. I'll find a way." I had the strong sensation that he would find a way too; when he set his mind to it he could be stubborn until he got his own way. Which was all of the time.

"Okay." I couldn't disagree, not after the words I'd just relayed to him and it wasn't like we were going to buy something on the spot. It was a reasonable idea although there was probably more to it that he wasn't telling me.

An hour later I found myself sat in a nondescript bar that was supposed to cater for the undead and all of their followers, which actually meant it, was a hangout for fang-bangers. However, like the excellent bar owner that Eric is he had to check out the competition to see if there actually was any competition. I'd done several things like this with him before but this seemed to take the biscuit. Garbed in gothic colours with a lace design printed on the walls it was like Disney World gone wrong, if Walt had ever gone stark raving mad. Perhaps it was more like Universal at Halloween when catering for the pre-teens.

A gin and tonic was sat in front of me and Eric was nursing his own drink, a bottle of O positive that he'd barely taken a sip out of. Spread out on the booth table were sheets and sheets of paperwork, most sporting pictures of different types of houses all in different areas and with different price tags. It was actually a little overwhelming.

"I imagine you want something in the popular style, antebellum perhaps?" Eric asked as he flickered through some papers at an alarming speed.

"Maybe, I've never thought about it, I've always imagined living in my grandmother's house forever." I shrugged knowing that my eyes were wide as I wracked my mind for features I would like.

"Take a look at these." He handed me the stack he'd been looking through, all of them neatly lined up with the ones below. He took another sip of his drink then, grimacing at the taste of the common blood group. "They need to stock better supplies if they're going to interest any vampires," he said loudly and clearly as he popped the bottle back on the table. He'd once explained why he didn't like the common blood groups; _when you've been around for a thousand years everything becomes mundane, wouldn't you tire from eating the same thing day after day for a millennia?_

Starting at the top I saw a large brick house, boring in style, that looked like it could come from any part of the country and be from any estate. It lacked character and charm and everything that I associated with a home, although it had everything necessary for a house. By the time I'd looked through half the pile I'd realised something; I wanted what I already had, I wanted a house that had personality, with that lived in air. Apparently Eric was becoming more adept at reading me, even though he swore I had the ability like no other to surprise him, because he looked up at me expectantly, questioning me with his eyes.

"I don't like brick houses," I started with the easiest of my desires.

"Perhaps, you should tell me what you do want."

"I want a house with wooden slats, shutters on the windows, a porch that wraps around the ground floor although there doesn't need to be a first floor. I want a big enough garden that I can sit outside in the summer, work on my tan and I want a home, not just a house." When I stopped looking at the house on the sheet of paper than I was basically describing, I saw that Eric was staring at me with small smile on his face.

"What?" I asked self consciously, a small blush working its way up my cheeks.

"Your face, you become more animated when you talk about something you love. You talk about your family and friends like that, and you talk about houses that you love like that; you basically described your grandmother's house though. But the best part is, you talk about me like that."

I grinned back at him before continuing through the rest of the pile of papers. It was only then that I wasn't taking any of Eric's thoughts into consideration. We would have to compromise on a lot of things which would be difficult for both us and God bless him, Eric was trying and he was thinking more about my human needs as well. "What kind of house would you like?" I downed the rest of my drink and pushed the glass to the side where it joined Eric's still half full bottle at the edge of the table, ready for the waitress to clear up.

"Anything reasonable, I've lived in many different places and houses, I've discovered a few things over the years. It doesn't really matter where you live but who you share it with." He shrugged his large shoulders as he sat back against the booth.

"So you'll be happy with anything I pick?"

"Yes, within reason. I'm not going to live in something with sprawling windows and decorated with flowers in every room." Just the idea of Eric sat on a cream sofa; everything around him decorated in old woman style, looking out through a window that took up most of the wall was enough to bring laughter to my lips. "Now, which ones do you like the look of lover?" I praised myself for organising the papers as I'd been looking through them so I simply handed over the pile that had passed my approval, of which there weren't actually that many. "Would you like to go looking at some of these? We can drive our way over to Bon Temps; we can stay at your place."

"That sounds good; we didn't have anything planned for this evening anyway. It can't hurt to look," I replied.

"Good, come on, I don't like this place." He stood up gathering the remaining papers up as he moved. I stood up more slowly, the late hour already beginning to take its toll on my energy reserves and it would be nice to sit in the corvette for awhile with its comfortable seats with intra seat heating.

"Where are we going first?" I asked once we'd been on the road for about fifteen minutes and we already more than halfway to Bon Temps, speeding down the back roads, taking in the small towns or villages, most places we passed even smaller than my hometown.

"We'll be there in two minutes, it's a place called Lower Denby."

Just over a minute later we pulled up outside a house that was illuminated from within by what appeared to be every light in the house switched on. The house was large, with two storeys that seemed completely unnecessary for just the two of us but everything else seemed to fit the criteria; wraparound porch, sprawling garden with a separate driveway, wooden slats and even the shutters on the window.

"This place seems nice," I stated because it honestly was, but I couldn't help feeling like it was too big. It was larger than my grandmother's house and I didn't use at least half of that on a regular basis.

The next four houses we looked at were the same; all perfectly nice but nothing seemed to jump out at me, I couldn't imagine myself living in one of them, even if it was only a partial move. That all changed though with the second to last house. We were closer to Bon Temps than we'd originally thought would be a good idea; however we weren't that far out of our original scoping area. The home that I was interested in was a quaint little house that was nestled into the back of a larger properties garden.

The wooden slats were painted a pale colour, what the actual colour was I couldn't actually tell due to the darkness of the night yet I could tell that it was a modern build house in the antebellum style. The roof tiles were dark with two windows peaking out of them, giving the house a sort of smiling expression with the wraparound porch just underneath. The porch itself went around the entire ground floor, only stopping when it reached the brick chimney that climbed into the sky higher than the roof. All of the windows had old style, plain shutters that gave some character to the peaceful looking place. The small for sale sign though was sat between the little house and the larger one it shared land with.

"Which one's actually for sale?"

"Both, although the listing is ambiguous, which one do you like best?"

"The little one."

"I shall have to look into it," Eric replied sounding as though he was deep in thought.

"Eric, there probably isn't much point. You know it's not even definite that we're doing this, I'm not entirely sure why we're looking."

"Trust me, I'll find a way." I did trust and I did know that he would make this happen, when he set his mind to something he wouldn't let anything stand in his way. "Would you like to call it a night? You're getting very drowsy," he added. It was true; my eyelids had been drooping steadily lower for the past twenty minutes and I was ready for sleep, I'd been thinking of curling up in bed for quite awhile.

"Let's go, we're not that far away."

"What do you mean you can't make it happen tonight? You're the night lawyer; you get paid to make this happen!"

"Oh Sookie, thank goodness you're here," Pam greeted me as soon as I stepped through the staff door at Fangtasia the next week. Eric's shouting was ricocheting down the corridor, reaching us easily even though we were near the bar. "That's a lovely colour for your skin tone," Pam added with a secretive smile gracing her pretty face.

"Erm thanks Pam. You look good too!" I just couldn't not return the compliment, besides, it was true, and she looked as good as ever. "What's going on?" I asked with a speculative glance down the corridor where shouted words were bleeding into each other, no longer intelligible.

"He's been like this for a few days, he won't tell me what's going on, and he says I'll tell you. He's in negotiations with some form of lawyer. From what I gather it's something to do with property." She shrugged her slight shoulders before swaying off through the door to the bar.

"Okay then," I said to myself. I had the feeling that Eric was doing something he knew I wouldn't necessarily agree with. It would explain his secrecy with Pam; especially if it had to do with us possibly living together it could raise his emotions quite high.

I walked down the hallway in silence, trying to make out what Eric was saying but he was speaking so fast his words were all merging into one; I felt truly sorry for the person on the other end of the phone. When I was about three paces from the door there was a loud smashing sound as something hit the door. "Eric?" I questioned loudly yet timidly as I reached the door. There was no response, which should have been immediate, so I opened the door, keeping my body behind it. I knew he wouldn't harm me on purpose, but with him this angry there was a lot of room for accidents.

I found Eric stood with his back to the door, one hand running continuously through his long hair that was in complete disarray around his head. The other hand held a clump of metal, moulded I imagined into the shape of his hand; the vampire equivalent of a stress toy. He was facing his desk, stooped over and visibly shaking with rage. The phone, which was the object that had hit the door, was shattered into tiny pieces on the floor. It was in such tiny pieces that I could only guess it was his phone.

"Eric?" I asked again which sent him whirling around to face me.

"Sookie," he breathed and I saw some of the tension leave him, for one he stopped shaking. The chunk of metal he was holding thudded to the floor, rolling slightly to rest under the desk. It was then, following the motion that my sights came across the edge of one of the filing cabinets. It was barely standing up several fist shaped dents married the side and one of the drawer fronts was completely missing, at least that explained where the stress ball had come from.

"Are you okay?" I asked, knowing it was a stupid question, something was clearly wrong to provoke this reaction but I just couldn't think of anything else that was more appropriate.

"I'm getting better," he replied as he covered the distance between us in two strides, immediately wrapping his arms around me tightly when he reached me. The door was pushed shut behind me as somehow. My own arms snaked around his neck as I stood on tip toe to better reach him. "Can I borrow you phone?" He asked after a few seconds of just holding me, with everything passing beat of my heart more tension left him until he was merely angry.

"Yes, just promise not to break it." I said whilst I was already fishing for it from the pockets of my trousers.

"You know I can't promise that, but if I do break it I will replace it," he replied with a chuckle. His fingers flew over the keys as he dialled a number from memory. He held one finger up at me and I took it as my queue to get comfortable.

"Salvas, tell me you've sorted something out." His angry tone was back but it was less harsh than before, I really couldn't tell if this was the same person from before. "Finally. Tell them I want word from them tomorrow evening with a full download of the situation and whether it's likely to have spread to other areas." The call abruptly ended and he tossed the phone, somewhat gently, onto the desk.

"What's wrong?"

"I've several things over the past week, many interlink, the first is the most troublesome." He indicated the sofa to the side of the room which I gladly accepted, taking his hand so that he would follow me. He began to speak again as soon as I was sat down, my legs folded up underneath me. "I've been speaking with the sheriff of area 6; they've been the latest victims." My stomach sank at his words, I had no idea what offense had been committed against them, but I knew they were a strong area; Eric actually respected the head vampire.

"What's happened?"

"They've had a human traitor in their midst, they've been under investigation for a couple of weeks and they've finally found their mole. Around the country humans that have been sworn allegiance to vampires have been influenced by the new church, giving them information on vampire politics mainly. In some areas worse." His voice was grave and low as he spoke, obviously worried by the recent events. He curled up his long body to sit on the floor, his back against the sofa near my knees. One of his legs was stretched out in front of him whilst the other was folded with his arm wrapped around it. It looked surprisingly human.

"The Fellowship of the Sun church?"

"Yes. Recently cities across America have been victim; Los Angeles, Detroit, Montgomery, Jacksonville, my friends in Dallas. A couple of places have had serious incidents, vampires being attacked although none have been successful, more irritations at this stage. What worries me is that the church has potential. They can cause us great damage and the number of followers they have seems to be growing by the day."

"I can't allow myself to be at risk, and I know that I am. I want to protect you and I'm scared that I can't. Which is the reason for what I'm about to ask you. I need you on my staff Sookie; I want you to use your gift of telepathy if you can and will, to help keep us safe."

"What would this entail?" I asked, wanting to help but not knowing if really could.

"I want you to do regular checks on my human employees, more than the few checks you've run on some of them. Ideally every month so that we can catch any possible traitors before any true damage is done. You will be given a salary for your services in keeping with everyone else here." He turned his head to look at me, the worry plane in the slight crinkling around his eyes. "Would you be willing?"

"Of course, if it helps keep us safe." I spoke the utter truth, it would break me if anything ever happened to Eric, the knife would cut even deeper if I knew I could have done anything to help him. What he was asking was reasonable, something that might actually work, it wasn't foolproof they the person being tested would have to been at least half thinking about the church, but with the right questions it could be brought about.

"Thank-you." He grasped my hand from where it had been laying atop my knees to place a gentle kiss on my palm. "We can arrange details when I don't have other news to tell you. I'm afraid you might like this even less."

"I placed an offer on the little house we saw, below the asking price and they accepted. I'm in a legal contract to buy the house now."

"But Eric, I can't afford anything yet!" I replied, getting angry at him going behind my back. My legs uncurled from underneath me so that I could sit up straight, no longer leaning against the arm of the sofa. "We already talked about this."

"I know, but with not having to come through to Shreveport you can work more late shifts, get better tips. You'd save a lot of money on bills from your home and with the new telepathy job you'd have enough, I think." My mind clicked into gear; had he purposefully asked me to do the new job so that there'd be nothing stopping us moving in together? I'd known him to be this devious before, but only with other people, he'd never done anything this close to pure manipulation with me before.

"Did you create this job for me? Just so I'd move in?" I shrieked, standing up and pacing across the room.

"No!" He replied, standing up so I was no longer taller than him.

"Honestly?" I turned around and stared up at him, straight into his beautiful eyes, looking for any hint of a lie in them.

"No." He was telling the truth. "I've been hearing of these incidents for awhile and they've been getting closer to home, the Dallas problems reached me tonight which is why I asked you to use your telepathy. I admit though, it is helpful in this situation." His pale hand ran through his blond locks again, sending the locks into disarray once more. He was telling me the truth and this seemed more like him with the way he acted with me, not deceitful or lying but making the absolute best out of any situation.

"Then what does this mean?" I asked aloud, but really for myself.

"If you take this simply, it means that you can get the extra cash you need and we're safer than we were."

"I don't know Eric," I replied whilst my mind was still reeling.

"Sookie, don't use the situation as another excuse to not do what you want because you're scared!" His words stung and rung with clarity in my mind because deep down I knew that's what I was doing. I'd never committed myself to anyone so much and it was terrifying but it felt right. I knew what I had to do.

"I want two months, let me build up some money so that I know I have enough and I'll do it." My breath rattled out of me as I agreed but I knew instantly that I'd done the right thing, the broad grin stretching across his lips was enough reward for my bravery.

"Two months. I have to go along with proceedings now but it's likely to take longer than that. Two months." He crossed the gap between us in two long strides so that he could wrap his arms around my shoulders, bringing me in tight to his body. His lips found mine instantly. I kissed him with everything I had, letting my convoluted emotions out into my actions but making sure that he knew I loved him. "We have so much to discuss!" He cried out, the happiness clear in his voice and all the anger from earlier completely gone. I grinned back at him; I just couldn't not smile, as his mouth descended on mine once more.

"Do you know what I'm looking forward to?" He whispered against my lips, barely pulling back enough to speak.

"What's that?"

"Christening every room."

* * *

**So what did you think? I would love some feedback; you know I love reviews almost as much as being bitten. I'm going to update the timeline/synopsis page tomorrow and I don't know how to do that without deleting it first so I warn you now, one of the alert things some of you guys get will be from that. Another question, which sounds very stupid, the Halloween Massacre that Eric references in Living Dead in Dallas, St Petersburg Russia or St Petersburg Florida? I'm thinking Russia but I wanted to be sure. In my defence I'm highly blond. Thanks. **

**Oh, this story takes place about six months after they've been together properly, sometime just after Christmas I think. **


	7. Question

**Why hello my lovely readers! **

**I'm sorry it's been so long, it's been a hectic week; 2 exams, prom, chemistry dinner, father's day and a load of other boring stuff. If you're interested it was Aerosmith and Queen that I was listening to during this song, particularly Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy. The second episode of True Blood was fantastic, I've never wanted to hug a vampire more than I did during that episode, I can't recall another point anyway. I can't believe, well it is TB, that they left it there, I need to know what's happened and I don't get to find out until Monday at the earliest! Also, if Eric offers you protection and primal sex, it's always yes to both, silly Sookie. Damn England. On an interesting note, the guy that's playing Franklin Mott is from Leeds which is about fifteen minutes away from me. Speaking of, does anyone get this reference, "Fly Kes, fly like the wind." **

**I only have one exam left but I am going away on holiday for ten days as of next Thursday. It looks like the USA is out of the World Cup, it's in the last ten minutes of extra time as I watch this and England's fate is being decided tomorrow afternoon. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. So, enough of me rambling, on with the update! **

**

* * *

**

"Sookie, what delight do we have to be in your presence tonight?" Pam asked in her typically bored tone when I sidled up to the front of the line at Fangtasia, for once actually using the main entrance. I may have been forgoing the staff entrance but I wasn't going to queue.

"Just came to see Eric, my shift got changed at work so I came over early. Is he in?" I asked. I even feigned showing her my driver's licence for ID just to appease a few of the people behind me that were beginning to grumble at what sounded like the start of a conversation.

"Of course. Shut up." She added to the disgruntled people behind. "He's in a surprisingly good mood; do you have anything to do with it?" She was wearing her Fangtasia uniform of a sweeping black dress with lots of lace that only accentuated her ample chest. I hadn't seen Eric in three days, hence why I was here early, recently we'd been seeing each other at least every other day and I had grown used to it. I had of course spoken to him during that time but he'd seemed exactly the way he always did with no hint of a generally improved mood.

"Not that I know of," I replied honestly as I tucked away my wallet back into my purse.

"Hmm." Was the only reply I got before she waved me into the bar and I was thrust into the bustling sea of black.

The bar was pumping with life, which was strange for a vampire bar, with lots of people moving about. It was busy for it being so early, even though it was a Friday, and I had to squeeze between gyrating bodies on the dance floor to get to the bar. Most people in the bar tonight seemed to be the typical Goth crowd with very few tourists interspersed between them and there were of course, a few vampires, standing out from the people by the slight glow to their skin. The other difference between the humans and vampires; the vampires knew me and actually moved as much as possible out of my way with their own greeting.

I finally reached the bar to find that Chow was bar tending tonight, his long black hair was hanging straight down past his shoulders and all his intricate tattoos were on show due to his vest top. "Hi Chow," I greeted as sweetly as I could. Chow wasn't my favourite vampire, simply put he gave me the creeps, and I was quite sure I wasn't his favourite human either.

"Sookie."

"Gin and tonic please," I asked and the drink was placed in front of me before I'd even finished speaking. "Thanks. Have you seen Eric?"

"Not recently, he's out front tonight though," he responded before turning his attention to the other patrons without even taking my money. I'd noticed recently, mainly since I'd been put onto the staff here, that it wasn't a sure thing that I'd pay for my drinks, in fact, I hardly ever did.

I sighed, took a sip of the drink and turned around, looking for Eric's tall frame through the crowd. I didn't spot him at first, starting at the back near the door to cover all bases. When I found him, standing near the back of the room, he was watching some form of developing situation in the opposite direction to where I sat. His long, pale blond hair was rolling down over his shoulders, contrasting sharply with the black leather of his jacket. I couldn't see what jeans he was wearing but I was willing to bet money they were form fitting and black. Those jeans did look good on him.

I pushed away from the bar and began to sneak along the edges of the dance floor. The pulsing beat of the music worked through my body, I could feel it rushing through me, and I couldn't help but nod my head along even though the heavy rock wasn't something I'd normally listen to. The task of getting to Eric was quite difficult, there were no vampires tucked away by the back wall of the bar, just dancing humans who hadn't quite made it onto the floor. Eric's broad shoulders came into clear view after only a minute though and a smile crept across my face. He was talking quietly to a vampire I only barely recognised; he was both young and new to the area. Fortunately for me, the vampire stalked across the bar in the opposite direction of me when I was only a few paces away.

"Lover," Eric stated simply as he spun around to meet me. I probably should have known better than trying to surprise a vampire, it had never worked before. I had thought the excessively loud music would have helped my cause. Of course, Eric was acutely aware of me since he'd had so much of my blood since we'd been dating.

"Eric," I replied with a smile. The glass with my only half drunk drink was whipped out of my hand to be placed somewhere that I didn't know, before I was swept up into his arms. My own arms wrapped around his slim waist, feeling the soft leather underneath my skin. His unique scent washed over me, the clean scent of soap and laundry detergent mixed with something that was purely Eric, something that told me on a primal level he was all man.

"You're early," he whispered directly into my ear so that I could hear him above the music.

"Yeah, my shift got changed, you don't mind do you?" I asked worriedly as I craned my neck to look up into his face whilst still being pressed against his chest.

"No," he said, emphasising with a kiss to my forehead. "Not at all." He was acting almost strange, being so affectionate in such a public setting, not that I was complaining. "Would you like to dance?" He asked suddenly, a few seconds later, breaking the silence between us that had only being filled with me feeling his hard muscles underneath my hands.

"You dance?" We'd been officially together for a little over a year; we'd known each other closely for eighteen months and not once during that time had we danced, or had we even mentioned dancing. That involved the time we were forced to go and check out a new dance club that had opened up which catered for the fang-banger crowd.

"I know how," he responded and it didn't escape my notice that he'd evaded my question really. It didn't surprise me though that he knew how to dance, when you've lived as long as he had you learn a lot of things, I even had the sneaking suspicion he knew how to cook, at least basic things. That one was a strange trait for a vampire; most didn't even have kitchens in their homes. "Would you like to dance?" He asked again, an amused smile making his lips twitch.

"Yes!" Singing and dancing were fun past times for me, not that I could hold a note or hit more than ten correct ones in a row. Dancing however, I was at least decent at, I simply let the beat fill me and allowed my body to move on instinct.

He unwrapped my arms from around his waist, keeping my hands in his though as he took a few steps back towards the dance floor, pulling me gently along with him. The humans that surrounded us spared us more than a few glances as they'd never seen Eric dancing before; he usually kept to a booth or stood by the bar. _Why's HE dancing with HER?_ One of the them thought, causing me to reinforce my mental shields, trying to keep their negative thoughts at bay. My intentions were fixed on my blond god of darkness, leading me into our first ever dance together. Suddenly he tugged sharply on my hands, pulling me into his body.

"Trust me," he whispered somewhat huskily in my ear and it was the only warning I got before I was spun swiftly around to face the crowd, my back pressed along the entirety of his front.

"Okay," I breathed back as his hands moved from my arms, trailing up to my shoulders before moving down my sides, finally coming to rest on my hips. The tight jeans I was wearing were only accentuating my curves and I knew I looked good, even through my shields I could pick that up from the male minds in the crowd. My scarlet vest top clung to my torso and looked brilliant against my deep summer tan, the main reason that I'd chosen it, although not standing out at the club had been another.

The heavy beat of the music washed over me, still a rock beat but slower and I thought I actually recognised it as something that Eric had played in his car before. The rhythm moved through me and I felt myself beginning to move in time. Eric's large hands on my hips felt the stirring and he began to guide me, making me sway further in each direction. I leant back, relaxing into his touch after a few bars and I was pleased to feel his grip tightening, encouraging my movements. Behind me I could feel him mirroring my movements with his own, in a smaller manner, moving only a couple of inches until the chorus of the song began.

I was pushed forwards a few steps, his legs touching my own as much as our height different would allow and I tried desperately to keep the contact as we moved backwards to our start. "I said trust me," he whispered again and I felt my heart beat pick up as stirring began, deep within my stomach. The next thing I knew we were moving backwards, a direct copy of our earlier movements and I finally grasped everything. An open mouthed kiss was planted in the nook between my shoulder and neck, the hard press of fangs sent shivers running down my spine.

My arms that had been resting atop of his on my hips, crossed in front of me to trail up his arms to his neck, not caring who was watching us or where we were. My fingers tangled in his long hair that was falling freely across his shoulders. With only a short tug I gained another kiss, this time accentuated with a nip and I felt the hard press of his gracious plenty against my lower back. It seemed I wasn't the only one that liked how close our bodies were pressed together. As my hands unwound from his hair to ghost down his arms his hands moved, capturing my left in his right.

He pulled sharply on my arm, causing my heart to thud loudly at the shock but the next instant I knew I was twirling smoothly until my arm was outstretched. The smile across my face was natural as I moved back to him, spinning slowly with swaying hips. This time we were facing each other, my eyes just about level with the little hollow between his collar bones. His hands slipped to my hips again, keeping the swaying motion going as we began to moved forwards again, the same as before. I couldn't resist the kiss I planted on his chest, my tongue darting out to lick his cool flesh.

"Do you really want to do that in the club?" He asked me, his voice taking on an even deeper resonance than normal. My only response was a slight giggle and another darting lick. "You asked for it," he retorted with a chuckle right in my ear.

Before I knew what was happening, my arms were thrown around his neck as he lifted my slightly off the floor, my toes only a few inches from the ground. We spun around, our hair trailing behind and merging together so that I couldn't quite tell where mine ended and his began. After two full rotations I was planted back on the ground, a slight lightheaded feeling making everything a little fuzzy. My arms were still latched around his neck whilst his hands trailed up my sides, roving over my flesh. Cool flesh rose goose-bumps on every exposed bit of skin as his hands moved with purpose. The song was building to the end, entering the last few bars as his hands dipped lower to their starting position. His long fingers were extended toward my butt, his finger tip digging softly into the flesh. With the next beat his hands moved to cup by bottom, grabbing firmly, making me squeal and giggle in a mixture of shock, embarrassment and delight. His hands didn't move again but simply held me too him, gripping me tightly, as we swayed out the last few retarding beats.

We pulled apart then, regretfully, to stand an almost respectable distance apart, our hands gripping each other. "Did you enjoy?" He asked with a slight smile and I could see his fully extended fangs; there would be no need to return the favour and ask him.

"Yes," I replied breathily my heart still hammering away in my chest, not from physical exertion.

"Good." I realised then that we wouldn't be dancing for another song but I was still grateful. He'd put aside some of his public persona for me, letting me get close and showing me affection in front of his subordinates something which he kept low key apart from in front of a select few.

"Can I have a dance?" A bold female asked, her make must have added an extra pound to her weight and it just didn't suit her.

"No." Eric stated without even bothering to look at her as he was too busy watching my chest heave with my heavy breathing.

"You danced with her, why won't you dance with me?" She whined and she made the third mistake of the evening; she pushed in front of Eric, making him look at her. His eyes grew darker than normal, glinting in the strobe lights of the bar, as he stared down at her.

"Move away," he growled, eyes glaring into her. Her reaction was visible even though it was silent, the blood drained from her face making her pale complexion even paler whilst her eyes widened from the fear. "I said move," he added after she had remained, staring like a deer in headlights, up at him without moving an inch. Still startled, she nodded limply before moving away, disappearing quickly into the crowd, merging with the sea of black.

"I thought I might have to make a move at her, trying to get a dance with my vampire," I giggled quietly, making sure that only Eric would be able to hear; he didn't usually like me talking about 'possessing' him in public. In private however, he didn't really have a problem with it, we'd discussed what I really meant by it and it turns out, and he actually likes being 'mine'.

"She could never hold my interest," he shrugged, his eyes once again fixed onto my face. I grinned up at him in reply and took his hands in mine, placing them on my hips as I took a step towards him, so close that if he was human I would have been able to feel the heat radiating from him. "You however will hold it for eternity," he whispered as he bent down to speak into my ear, his breath tickled the skin lightly. I would never tell him, not yet anyway, but I'd been thinking a lot more about immortality and the prospect of eternity with my man.

His hands began to trail across my hips and lower stomach, teasing my skin with his barely there touch that he knew I loved. "What time do you have to work 'til?" I asked not bothering to hide any of my desire. The broad grin showing off his still extended fangs was my reward, the glint in his eyes now from something close to amusement instead of annoyance.

"I can leave whenever I want. What's the point in being the boss if I can't do what I want?" The idea of Eric ever doing anything that he didn't want to on some level was completely laughable; I'm not entirely sure how I didn't end up giggling. "Shall we go lover?"This time he followed up his words with a little nip to my neck, playing with the tender skin.

"Yes."

The word had barely left my mouth before Pam was stood beside us, her perpetual bored expression taking nothing from her beauty, even if it was hidden slightly behind the Goth facade she wore for the club. Her eyebrows rose ever so slightly in question, her gaze travelling slowly between the two of us. "Yes?" Eric must have called her; I noted it down for later to ask him how exactly he did that and whether it was any vampire under his command or just those he'd sired.

"We're leaving; you are in charge of the bar for this night. I will be in touch tomorrow at the latest."

"Okay." She shrugged her slender shoulders gracefully before turning around to stalk back to where she'd come from, probably by the door. "Good luck," she called over her shoulder, staring at Eric with true amusement written over her face.

"What's that about?"

"Nothing you need to worry about," he replied evasively but I barely realised it; his hands took that moment to sneak down lower again, his finger tips brushing against the underside of my butt. "Now, let's go before I have to beat every man in here for looking at you." I smiled at that; it was completely his fault for making them look; he was the one that started our little impromptu show.

"Okay."

My arm looped through his as he led me across the room towards the staff door that led to the back corridor. He held the door open for me, acting as a true gentleman and even placing his hand on my lower back to usher me through and down the hall to the staff exit. We exited straight through the back door to walk across the parking lot to his sleek car. He'd stopped using his old red corvette in favour of the new Audi R8 Spyder that I happened to actually prefer. I clambered into the front passenger seat, actually remembering for once to go to the left side of the car because it was an import from Europe.

What felt like only a few minutes later we were pulling into the driveway of our shared home and I couldn't help smiling, just like I did every time I came here. The only people that know of the house's precise location was me and Eric, of course Pam knew of it and that it was somewhere near Bon Temps but that was it. It was our little hideaway haven and I had to admit, I took advantage of that as much as possible; sometimes I'd even just come here to relax when I was having a bad day. It was just that little bit better when we were together; when we'd first decided to move in together we'd decided to keep as many arguments, we did have them like any couple, out of the place so it remained a place of only good memories.

"What about my car?" I asked as I began to clamber out, for once actually beating him to getting my door open.

"You can take the Spyder or the truck if you need to go anywhere," he replied and within the blink of an eye he was stood before me, offering his hand to assist me out of the low car.

"I have work tomorrow lunch."

"No you don't," he answered with a sly smirk spreading across his lips, letting me see that his fangs were still run down. That threw me off course, I stumbled slightly out of the car and stared straight up at him; he was up to something.

"Yes I do, I'm on the early shift for the next three days until my day off." I folded my arms a little indignantly across my chest; I knew full well when I was working, especially since I'd only checked the rota a couple of hours ago.

"Lover, trust me, you're not working. I spoke to Sam and he agreed to give you the day off, I can be very persuasive." We walked up to the wooden front door and I was already fishing the key out of my jeans pocket as I'd forgone a bag tonight.

"What did you do?" I couldn't help the suspicious tone in my voice but Eric could be very direct and he wasn't happy unless he had his own way. The locks clicked into place and I gave the heavy door a little shove to get it open.

"Nothing you should worry about," he chuckled right behind me and shutting the door behind him so that he could throw the deadbolt into place. "I didn't hurt him or threaten him, much, if that's what you're thinking." When I spun around to face him for the comment he was closer than I thought so I just barrelled into his chest which sent his arms slinking around my shoulders. It didn't however; stop the little slap to his chest once I was stood far enough away.

"What's the plan for tonight?" I asked whilst I wondered down the short hallway to the back room which was the kitchen which I'd managed to deck out with everything I could possibly need and probably a couple of things I wouldn't with the amount of time I spent here. Free time spent here that is.

"I have a gift for you." I turned around to look at him, my eyebrows raised to meet my hair and the hand that held the glass of pineapple juice paused halfway to my mouth. He didn't give me random gifts all that often, instead preferring to lavish me with presents on days that he thought were special; birthdays, Christmas, Halloween, July 4th, pretty much any form of special occasion.

"Really? It isn't an occasion or anything," I grinned the woman in me already happy at the idea of a gift although I knew he spent way too much money on me. The glass was discarded onto the counter and I hadn't even taken a sip.

"I know, but I don't need a special reason to dote upon my woman," he shrugged his impressive shoulders, not bothering to move away from the doorway which he was leaning against for the movement. His muscular arms were folded across his chest. "Now, I'm going to go change. Please don't eat anything while you wait." He added cryptically before he left the room, leaving me with several questions.

He was really beginning to pique my interest with his behaviour which wasn't his typical self at all. I wasn't allowed to eat yet he had no problem with me eating at all, in fact he liked to watch me eat, finding such a mundane human necessity interesting and he didn't mind the taste. Bill had hated the taste of food in my mouth, he used to make me brush my teeth and floss after anything I ate when I was around him and he never stayed to watch.

His clothing options were another thing. He was wearing his bar clothes and he could have only been wearing them for a few hours so he couldn't have gotten them mucky, it wasn't like he could actually sweat. Why he was changing was a little bit of a mystery. Sure, when we were having alone time he tended to dress more comfortably and relaxed, not bothering with any form of persona he was trying to give off when there was only me around. Yet, he did know that I liked his 'work' clothes perfectly well, he did look mighty fine in them, so he wouldn't feel the need to change. All the others nights we'd met back at our home he hadn't bothered unless there'd been some form of incident that made them dirty. To be fair, they usually ended up on the floor fairly quickly anyway.

I shrugged off the questions and turned back to my juice, drinking it down and walking into the living where I shucked my shoes so I could curl up on the sofa. I left the TV off in order to just let my body relax, to feel the soft, plush cushions beneath me after my hard shift. My eyes had barely fluttered shut, I hadn't realised how tired I was, when there was a sharp rapping at the door which jolted me out of my almost slumber sharply. No one knew where we lived and to top it off we were unlisted on every list we could be and we had the little signs that warned off doorstep sellers.

"Eric!" I called out as I sat up, beginning to let my shields down enough to find out what sort of being was waiting for us at the other side of the door. "Someone's at the door," I added unnecessarily just because it was natural to say it. Of course he'd heard the door, what was strange was why he wasn't by my side already.

My considerable shields were down and I cast out my mental net, trying to gauge the people in the area. The mental blank that was Eric's undead fingerprint shined out from upstairs, the brightest mental picture in the area. The man outside wasn't a blank, he was some form of living creature but he was oddly muted, as though his thoughts were lost in thick fog. Supernatural. My heart flipped over in my chest, thumping against my ribs whilst my breathing quickened, growing shallower.

"Sookie, can you get the door." Eric responded from upstairs, his deep voice carrying easily and he didn't sound like he was shouting at all. My mind whirled at that, he'd called me by name instead of 'lover' and he was sending me to get the door when we knew it could be danger. Unless, he knew something that I didn't. Perhaps this was my gift! My breathing slowed slightly although my heart continued to race as I slowly headed towards the door, still not entirely sure what I was going to open the door to.

When I finally reached the door I peeked through the peephole to find a petite young man stood on the door step wearing some form of uniform. The black velvet suit jacket gleamed in the moonlight and made the white of his shirt truly shine with vibrancy which just made him look even more out of place on the old fashioned wooden porch. As though he could sense me looking, he probably could, he looked directly into the peephole and smiled charmingly at me. I immediately knocked a few years from my already young estimation of his age. He appeared to be harmless, that didn't really mean much with super-naturals, but it was all I could do in preparation. Eric was still upstairs, taking much longer to change than he ever had done before.

"Hello?" I asked boldly even though I didn't feel anywhere near as confident as I sounded.

"Miss Stackhouse," he replied with a hint of an accent that didn't quite ring true. "I trust that you are well this evening." I smiled dumbly in return, this didn't sound like what a man would say just before he would attack. "Please point me in the direction of your dining room and kitchen." He smiled his disarming smile again and I found myself pointing behind me, down the hall.

Still completely unsure what was happening I stood aside, letting the door open all the way. A second later the young man walked through and I discovered he was wearing what appeared to be a penguin suit, minus the tie, that was fitted just for him, fitting snugly in all the most inappropriate areas. It was only when I watched him walk down the hall, in shock that I realised he was carrying an impressive silver tiered stands that held several plates, all with heat preservers on the top.

"The first course is on the dining room table, the rest is placed in the kitchen with the desert in the fridge, the wine is on the table and the champagne is chilling in an ice bucket. Have a very pleasant evening," the young supe intoned as he passed me again on his way out and I finally placed his accent as faux French; it actually sounded more like it was naturally British.

"Thank-you," I managed to get out, it seemed I could never forget my manners. He only nodded in reply and even shut the door behind him on the way out. Curious, I walked down the hall to the dining room where there was indeed a place set for one person, with a steaming bottle of blood resting almost carelessly near the edge of the table. The heat preserver was still on the plate but the tantalising aroma of spiced chicken was sweetening the air from the kitchen. "Eric!" I yelled out, my need for answers finally boiling over.

I wandered into the kitchen in silence; no sounds were audible coming from upstairs. What waited for me was a feast for my eyes, and later for my stomach. The counter had been transformed into a waiting table where three more plates waited and the ice bucket that had been promised was nestled in between two of them. Each plate seemed to be giving off a different aroma that made me salivate, without even seeing what was waiting for me underneath the preservers. I was still staring at the plates when a pair of strong arms wrapped around me from behind, surprisingly the motion didn't make me jump.

"Do you like?" He asked, whispering into my ear even though there was no need. His breath tickled the sensitive skin and a shiver, like those I had experienced earlier made its way down my spine. His voice carried a hint of what I thought was concern, it was so far removed from his normal voice, as though he wasn't quite as confidant as normal.

"Yes," I replied happily because I honestly was. He'd been acting strange and it appeared he'd been nervous about whether or not I would like this gift, I did, and we could both finally relax. "It smell's gorgeous!"

"Not as beautiful as you," he added softly, his arms giving me a squeeze before he turned us around and gave me a little push that only did enough to give me the hint, towards the dining room. "Come on lover, your food waits."

I took the chair that Eric had held out for me, it seemed he was playing his true gentleman card tonight, and instinctually grabbed the napkin, placing it on my lap. It seemed strange to be about to tuck into such a fancy meal when I was only wearing jeans. That's when I remembered why Eric had left me to the door in the first place; I hastily looked up to see if he was as casual as me. His form fitting black jeans had been swapped for a slouchier fit pair, still in a dark wash. His feet, I looked as he walked at human pace to his own seat, were clad only in a pair of socks that appeared to be almost fluffy and most certainly soft. His t-shirt was short sleeved and pale green, almost the colour of a washed out turquoise sea. It seemed I was dressed as appropriately as he.

I lifted the lid off of my plate to reveal a plate of what appeared to be some form of mushroom decorated a folded slice of pink ham, surrounded by a few green beans. Honestly, I didn't know exactly what I was looking at. "Ceps with green beans and ham." Eric offered helpfully. I glanced up in time to see him take a sip from his True Blood which I could see was a rare blood group, the large shining AB+ve visible between his long fingers. I smiled my thanks before raising the first forkful of the dish to my lips. The deep taste filled my mouth and I couldn't hold back the slight moan that escaped my lips at the exquisite food. The texture of the mushrooms caused them to feel like they were melting in my mouth and the lightly smoked ham gave it the extra kick that sent it off the edge in food bliss.

The starter was finished faster than I would have liked, I could have easily eaten an entire meal of the delicacy, plus it was nice having Eric's rapt attention. With every swallow he'd smiled at me, his fangs running down further with every passing second. His fingers were running across the table top, dancing and tapping out a beat to music that only he could hear. "That was amazing," I stated around patting my lips with the napkin.

"I shall get the next course," he told me softly, squeezing my shoulder gently as he passed my chair, his other hand grabbing the plate. Only a moment later a fresh steaming plate was placed in front of me with a slight flourish that I didn't know that Eric was capable of. "Enjoy my lover," he said as he regained his seat. "Chicken a la diable, they said that it was best without anything else, apparently it lets the flavour speak for itself."

The chicken was even better than the ceps if at all possible. The spice mixed with the plain underbelly of the chicken exploded in my mouth. "I love watching you eat," Eric chuckled and I could see the honest interest in his sparkling blue eyes. I nodded my understanding but couldn't bring myself to stop eating in order to form an actual, verbal reply. "Listen." He stated suddenly and I paused instantly in mid chew to look at him with raised eyebrows. He waved his hand to indicate that I should continue eating, which I did, the food was irresistible.

"This is a little difficult for me, talking about emotions and feelings aren't natural but you evoke that in me Sookie, like no one has before." I stared up at him then, swallowing slowly the food that had suddenly become heavy in my mouth. He was speaking seriously and with no hint of any expansion of the truth, which I actually found a little hard to believe. He appeared to be telling me I was the love of his life yet he was over a thousand years old. "I speak the truth lover, never doubt that. I always tell you the truth, sometimes it's not necessarily everything I know but it's all true. Please eat Sookie; you need to keep your strength." He admonished slightly when he realised I hadn't eaten since he'd started speaking. I nodded my agreement and took another piece to my lips, letting the hot spice attack my tongue.

"I haven't felt human for decades; I haven't wanted to feel human for centuries. I spent years travelling with my maker, hiding in the shadows but always raising hell. For the first time you make me want to feel human. At first I was terrified by everything you evoked but now? I actually enjoy it. You've enthused a new lease for life in me, existence is no longer boring. This is why I did this for you tonight."

"Eric, I appreciate this, more than you probably know but you didn't have to. I know that you love me, just like you know that I love you." I smiled at him gently before reaching over to squeeze one of his hands that were resting on the table top, stilling its motion. I thought the strangeness was over but he'd just hit me with a new wave; he never spoke of his feelings. The only exception was when he told me he loved me; he tended to show me his feelings more with his tender moments that were for me only.

"It's desert time I think, there is another main course if you're interested." He picked up my empty plate, waiting for my response before he headed into the kitchen once more.

"Desert would be great, something in chocolate I hope," I giggled slightly, trying to diffuse a little of the tension that I felt in my body.

"It is. Why don't you go into the living room, I'll bring it in there."

Two minutes later I was sat on the floor in the living room, my back resting against the sofa whilst my bare feet were ruffling up the fur rug that Eric had insisted we bring over from his place. There a tense set to my shoulders though, even though just being in our shared home made me want to relax, I had nothing but good memories of here and I knew it was our little secret. Eric never acted like this, he was talking pretty openly about his feelings which I'd grown used to him not doing. In the beginning of the relationship it had bugged me somewhat, not knowing how he truly felt but over the months I'd realised that he showed his feelings a lot more. I knew how much he cared by how tender he could be, but it was only ever with me, no one else got any of that side him at all. He knew that I didn't need him to talk as openly as he done.

"Here you go," he broke me out of my thoughts with a little jump, I hadn't even realised he'd entered the room let alone sat down across from my on the rug. I followed the length of his arm to the dish that he was holding out to me that held what appeared to be a chocolate cheesecake covered with a thin layer of thick cream. "Black tie cheese cake, lots of chocolate."

Eagerly I tuck the dish, barely wasting any time in taking a forkful and putting a piece into my mouth. The rich, succulent taste of the chocolate and standard cheese cake coated my tongue, the crunchy base adding extra texture that made all the flavours explode in my mouth. I slowed down my rate of eating, wanting to savour every moment; it was that nice.

"Come here," Eric stated suddenly, bringing my attention to him and his words released the tension that had been held at bay with the chocolate-y distraction. I rose my eyebrows in question but did as he asked; rising to my knees and shuffling with little grace towards him.

"You okay?" I asked whilst making sure I was holding the dish very carefully; I really didn't want to waste any.

"I am now," he replied as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pushing me down gently to the floor so that he could pull me into his side. "There's another slice in the refrigerator." He chuckled lightly, nodding towards my white knuckles. He really did know me very well. I was actually beginning to think that he knew me better than anyone else, the only other person that had known me this well was my grandmother. Carefully, he took the bowl out of my hands to place it on the hearth by his other side.

He turned his face to me then, his head angled so that he could easily reach my lips. His soft lips brushed against mine for an instant, not evening giving me time to respond. He pulled back a few inches then, his eyes held lightly shut and a look of pure happiness spreading across his face making him even more handsome than he was anyway. "I can taste the chocolate on your lips," he whispered, his eyes still closed. "It makes me feel, taste." He added before his face bent to mine again, his lips moving against mine slowly, savouring every moment. The hand that wasn't holding both of our weights gripped the back of my head, threading his fingers through my long hair. My own arms snaked up around his neck, pulling myself as close as I could to his cool body so that I could feel the hard muscles underneath me. All too soon he pulled away from me, seemingly reluctantly and I mourned the loss of his lips against mine as they moved in time with each other.

"You better finish the desert before I decide I can't wait." He accompanied his words with holding the dish out to me again. I of course accepted it without question but kept my body tucked into his side; the coolness of his flesh was soothing, much like most people found the heat of someone in bed beside them. "Jag alskar dig."He stated calmly before laying a kiss on top of my head.

"I love you too," I replied easily, but wondering why he was using his native tongue instead of English, he never used the phrase when we were on our own.

The bowl was taken from my hands, along with the fork, as soon as I'd finished the food. "I want to talk." Instantly my stomach dropped at his ominous sounding words that I'd heard other people worry so much about hearing. "Don't look so frightened." He chuckled lightly at the sudden drop in colour from my face.

"What's wrong?" I whispered above the pounding of my heart.

"I said don't worry, trust me lover. I've been thinking about our time together. Do you know what a vampire's bonded is?" He asked as he patted the rug in between his legs. Obediently I shuffled around, positioning myself to sit close to him, my back pressed up against his chest. His strong, muscular arms wrapped around me, keeping me safe and protected within his embrace. I could no longer see his face but it allowed me to concentrate on his voice and I could feel his cool breath against my ear when he needed the air to speak.

"Yes, it's a bit like marriage. Blood is exchanged, not enough to turn the person, so that the couple in question have a heightened sense of the other; they can feel each others' emotions, sense when they are close and it's a deepening of the bond between the human and vampire in question." As soon as I finished speaking I realised where this conversation might be heading causing my breath to catch in my throat. He couldn't be serious could he?

We'd been together for a long time, in human terms at least, but bonding in such an intimate way seemed like a very steep increase in our relationship. One that I would love to take, on the whole.

"Essentially, but it is so much more than that. You would have the benefits of vampire blood in your system; we would be able to tell each other's emotions, feelings, and whereabouts. I could keep you safe. I'd know, even better than I do now if you were in danger."  
"It's a big step." I mumbled, deep in thought about what the changes would mean for me as a human.

"Yes. One that we're ready for."

"Eric, how can you say that? We've been together properly for just over a year, that's a long time for me but for you? It's barely a blip in your centuries."

"Never doubt what you mean to me, lover. Even for a vampire a year can bring about a lot. You've changed me which is almost a miracle within itself. It's been centuries since anyone has affected me in such a way and I'm not letting you go. I want this. You do too." It wasn't a question and I knew he was speaking the truth, I could hear it in the smooth cadence of his voice as he spoke into me ear.

"We don't have to do this right now?" I was devoted to my Viking, utterly and completely, and I knew that this was our next step. I didn't fully comprehend the extent of what this would entail, I needed the finer working points but it would have to be something momentous to make me not want to do this. Eric wouldn't deceive me like that, he knew he wouldn't have to resort to something like that to get me agree, not this far in as close as we are.

"No, but soon." He nipped at my ear, letting the sharp press of his fangs graze the sensitive flesh and the tip of his tongue to dart along the outer edge afterwards.

"Soon." I replied, nodding for emphasis. His already strong grip tightened around me and I pushed back further into his chest. "Tell me you love me." I whispered.

"Jag alskar dig lover," he whispered huskily his breath bordering on tickling as it caused the soft almost down hair of my temple to dance. "Sookie, I love you." I craned my neck around to look up at his handsome face; his long blond hair was pushed back behind his ears so that no beauty was taken away from his true blue eyes. My petite hand moved to rest against his cheek, feeling the slightly rough texture underneath my soft palm.

"I love you too Eric. I'll be bonded with you." I turned my face upwards and leaned forward, pressing my lips against his with eagerness that was returned tenfold. The slight stubble was evoking dirty thoughts deep within my brain that the simple motion of my hand rubbing along his face shouldn't have evoked. Suddenly my bottom lip was sucked into his mouth, clasped between his teeth so that we were walking the line on the edge of pain.

The relief of pressure when I felt the tip of one of his fangs puncture that plump skin of my lips was exquisite and I was acutely aware of the blood droplet building up. My lips was released from his mouth and he pulled far enough away to stare intently and the beading crimson fluid. The grin that stretched across his lips tightened the muscles deep in my stomach as the knowledge of what we were sure to do became concrete in his mind. Slowly, so that I could easily watch the movement, he brought his index finger from his left hand up to my lips, capturing the ever growing droplet on the tip. Just as slowly he brought it up to his own lips, sucking the liquid off of the skin. I couldn't contain myself any longer, I closed the distance between us and latched my lips onto his, feeling the residual metallic taste on his tongue that emanated from such a small drop of blood. My arms wrapped around his neck and I pulled us both backwards, letting us to the soft rug where we both succumbed to bliss.

* * *

**Don't you just love vampire Eric? I know I love reviews almost as much hehe. I tried desperately to keep him in character as much as possible, I'm still not entirely sure on it but oh well. Thanks for reading. Oh, it occurs sometime during the summer after they get together. **


	8. Misunderstood Feelings

**Hello my wonderful readers, **

**This one's quite a short one and it shows the more tender side of Eric. It's set about 3 years after the end of CAM. I hope you like it. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. On with the update. **

**

* * *

**

Have you ever had one of those days where nothing seems to go write and all the pressure in the world seems to be weighing down on your shoulders? Well, I was having one of those weeks.

I hadn't had a single night off from Merlotte's in eight days, we usually only worked a maximum of four nights before a full day off. Of course, I was working only nights and evenings now to accommodate my altered body clock due to Eric. What made matters worse was the fact that Charlsie, one of the other waitresses, was off of work sick with the flu which meant that I was helping to cover her section as well. It also meant I'd pulled one double shift and two extended shifts within the past few days too.

I was completely shattered and I was beginning to take my crabbiness out on Eric, even in our home which we'd promised to keep as our own little safe haven away from all the trials of our normal lives.

"Are you coming to the bar with me tonight lover?" Eric asked me as soon as he'd woken up from his day time slumber. We were both laid in bed, although I was only napping. "What's wrong?" He asked as soon as he fully comprehended that I wasn't snuggled up to his side with my face buried in his chest. That's one of the wonderful things about vampires; they sleep like the dead during the day and they sleep no matter how uncomfortable or strange their sleeping place is. This meant that it was perfectly fine for me to snuggle up to Eric during the evenings however I wanted and he would never complain. It also helped that he was a closet snuggler too.

"I'm fine, I was only taking a nap and you woke me up." I replied irritably, rolling over so that I was actually facing him. His hair was splayed out on the pillow behind him, contrasting sharply with our red and black sheets. The blond locks were a mess from where he'd been moving about before falling to sleep and his brilliant blue eyes were staring at me intently from his handsome face. "I'm not coming to the bar tonight, I have to work again." I added, realising I hadn't actually answered his first question.

"Okay, now, what's really wrong?" He asked again as he wrapped his left arm around my waist so that he could pull me in tightly to his body. Without any intention on my part his scent enveloped me with each breath, taking some of the tension out of my muscles.

"I'm tired, which makes me crabby." I replied honestly because he'd be able to tell if I lied and said I was fine again anyway. The bond between us flared in my mind as he tested my mood and strong sensations of relaxation and calm washed over me. "Don't do that." I snapped and I couldn't help the strong set of my lips as I tried to hold back a pout.

"Sookie, I don't think it's just tiredness that's got you feeling like this. You've been tired before and not acted like this. You know you can talk to me." His hand rubbed circles on my back rhythmically and underneath the soft Fangtasia t-shirt I was using as a nightie.

"All I can think of is that I'm tired, which I really am." My eyelids began to droop as I spoke, only working to emphasise my point. A gentle kiss landed on my forehead and I couldn't suppress the sigh that escaped my lips.

"What time to do you need to be at work?" He asked quietly. My head was now tucked underneath his head, my nose pressed into the little hollow between his collar bones so that I could smell his unique masculine scent without sniffing.

"Eight. I'm on the closing shift again, covering for Charlsie. She's still sick."

"Sleep, you've got another couple of hours before you have to get up. I'll wake you up and drop you at Merlotte's on the way to the bar." I nodded in form of reply before switching off my senses and sinking in unconsciousness again. Being this close to Eric, especially with our blood bond, meant that I didn't have to hold up any mental shields as his blank mind kept out all thoughts that I might pick up from anywhere else. I didn't even question why he was taking me to work, it was in the opposite direction to Fangtasia and he was usually there before opening on Thursdays.

"Lover." A whispered voice in the darkness broke through to my mind. Cool hands were gliding over my back, down my arms and along my neck. A pair of soft lips pressed against my own gently and even fogged with sleep I kissed him back. No one knew quite how to wake me like Eric did. "It's time to get up. We need to get you to the bar." I nodded my head but made no motion of moving from where I was laying comfortably snuggled up into his side.

I hadn't even bothered to open my eyes but I was suddenly awake. A pair of lips pressed against my own, moving slowly against my soft flesh. I responded instantly moving with him and sending my tongue to explore of his cool lips, probing into his mouth. His tongue met mine and they danced together in harmony. My tongue broke from his to run over his hard fangs, feeling them elongate at my touch with excitement that started a fire in the pit of my stomach. Moving my arms around his neck, I began to move my hands through his hair, tangling thick locks around my fingers. "As much as I would love to continue this lover, we both have to go to work. Quickie?" He asked as he pulled back, his pale eyebrows wiggling. He never could pass up sex.

"What time is it?" I asked as I turned my attention to his neck, using my teeth to lightly bite his flesh.

"Just after seven," he moaned out breathily and I knew our fun had to stop. I had less than an hour to get up, showered, dressed and actually present at work.

"We can't," I replied unhappily, "we don't have time." As I spoke the words reality came crashing back down and the somewhat good I'd awoken to disappeared in a flash. I wish I knew the problem that was causing me the feeling but it was truly eluding me.

He placed an almost chaste kiss on my lips before quite literally springing from the bed, giving me a glorious view of his bottom that I didn't enjoy anywhere near as much as normal, and leaving me to get ready. He was probably keeping us both away from temptation. Before he disappeared from the room he picked up a pair of black wash jeans that he stepped into whilst somehow still managing to walk, and grabbed a shirt from the drawer. The last glimpse of him I got was of his muscles rippling down his back as he pulled the shirt on over his head.

Left alone thoughts of gloom consumed me and I slowly got out of bed, heading to the en suite bathroom for a shower. With no time to spare I was ready with my uniform on and waiting impatiently by the door. Eric was ambling along down the hallway, a half empty bottle of True Blood in his hand and wearing his customary leather jacket.

"Eric, I can just drive myself, you've got to get to work too," I called huffily as he paused to down the rest of his drink.

"I drive quicker. You'll be there on time; Sam should be more lenient." He grabbed his keys off of the hook, palming them and moving towards the door. He barely paused to place a kiss on my lips as he passed, keeping the door held open for me.

The fifteen minute ride to the bar was passed in silence that for once wasn't full comfortable between us. We'd never been like this before; we'd always had something to talk about. Even when there wasn't anything new to talk about, Eric had thousands of stories he could tell me from the millennia of years he'd seen. I gave him a customary peck of the cheek, ignoring his movement for a more intimate goodbye and got out of the Audi to go into work.

An hour into my shift I was serving one of my more irritating tables, they kept ordering a pitcher of beer and sides of fries individually instead of all at once. I also knew from past experience that they were lousy tippers.

"Here's you beer," I told no one in particular as I plonked down another pitcher in the centre of the table. I made to clear away the empty glasses as I'd brought fresh ones this time.

"Leave that there, collect them later." One of the gruff patrons stated as I leant past him.

"Okay." I pulled my arm back, knocking into the man sat closest to me who was raising his full glass to his mouth. The glass tipped, moving with my arm towards my body and before I could stop it the glass tipped over, spilling its contents all over the table and onto my apron.

"Silly Sookie, that's your fault!" One of the guys spoke out as he picked up the glass, managing to save about half the contents.

"You'll have to fetch us some fresh beer," another one added. Then came the fateful sentence.

"What would you grandmother say?" The oldest one asked the one that I vaguely recognised from around Bon Temps. My world came crashing to a halt; a glass that I'd been holding tumbled to the floor without a glance.

"What did you say?" I whispered out, staring blankly ahead of me.

"I said, what would your grandmother say to your behaviour." The man repeated his statement, although I had him perfectly clearly, with a shake of his scruffy head.

"Sorry," I whispered, not entirely sure if was audible or not. Then I spun on my heel and fled from the bar, tears already pouring down my face as I ran into the back room. "Sam, I need to go," I called as I blasted into his office, not even looking to see if he was in the room, although he usually was when he wasn't behind the bar.

I grabbed my jacket and bag from their respective hooks before rushing out the door, trying desperately to mop up the tears that were streaming freely down my cheeks. It was only when I reached the car park that I realised that I didn't have a car in which to drive home. I stood forlornly in the car park, looking around for inspiration to solve my predicament. There was nothing that I could do; the only cars in the staff lot were needed to get other staff members home. The cars in the customer lot all belonged to people I barely knew, I could hardly ask to borrow their car. That was how I came to be walking down the lonely parish roads in the middle of the night.

I was still walking down the miles long Hummingbird Lane an hour later. My jacket was pulled around me, working as a comforter to block out the chill breeze that had picked up. My tears had dried on my face only a short while ago, leaving behind sticky trails of crusty salt water. My feet trudged through the sludge at the side of the deserted road and my eyes were downcast as I didn't need to look to see where I was going.

"Sookie," a deep, calming voice whispered suddenly through the night. The voice didn't make me jump though, although I hadn't been conscious of it, my mind had known he was on his way. It was probably one of the reasons I'd stopped crying so forcefully. A sense of calm passed over as a pair of strong hands landed gently on my shoulders, stopping me in my tracks. "Lover," Eric whispered in my ear as his arms slid further around me to encase me in his embrace.

"I can't believe it Eric," I cried, fresh tears falling down my cheeks even as I turned in his arms to bury my face into his chest, not caring that I was spoiling his shirt.

"Sh, tell me about it when I get you home and safe." I nodded my head, my sobs still silent. My arms wrapped around his waist tightly and I screwed my eyes up, knowing what was coming next.

We were in the air the next instant, rising above the tree tops that lined the road causing the wind to whip against the little part of my face that was actually exposed. My stomach dropped as we rose higher and our speed picked up considerably, sending me further into Eric's strong chest. He wouldn't let me get hurt but that didn't stop the fear of falling. Before too long though I felt the all too familiar feeling of descending and I knew we must be over the clearing that surrounded either my house or our home.

"You can open your eyes," he whispered to me just as my feet touched the ground lightly. My eyes snapped open and I instantly recognised the large, open patch of grass that surrounded my childhood home. Somehow he'd interpreted that I needed to go home through my convoluted mind. "Let's get you inside." Suddenly I was scooped off of my feet once more as Eric carefully swung me into his arms, carrying my bridal style up the porch steps. I didn't watch how he opened the door, the next thing I knew I was being laid down on my grandmother's old bed, the one I now used when I stayed here.

"How did you know?" I whimpered as he curled up behind me on the bed, one arm around my waist and his position mirroring mine as much as our height differences would allow.

"I felt your sudden despair, I didn't know what was wrong and I set out to find you. I called Sam in transit and he said that you'd run out of work, gone before he could catch you. I could kill him for letting you get away; he could have shifted and caught you up." There was an edge to his tone and I could tell that he was reining in his anger, keeping himself in check.

"It's not Sam's fault," I replied.

"It gives me someone to direct my anger at." He'd been working on temper issues and it was working, at least around me. "I followed our bond and found you on the road walking to your house. I couldn't tell what was wrong but I was getting the sense of home and of childhood. I put the other information together."

"What did you come up with?" I asked cautiously, my eyelids lightly shut but not keeping the a few silent tears from sneaking past my eyelashes.

"Your grandmother, it's four years today." He placed a tender kiss on my neck before sweeping my hair back from my face to push behind my ear. Another kiss was placed on my cheek.

"Yes. I can't believe I forgot." Guilt welled up inside me, causing a new wave of tears that racked my body, making my muscles contract at once in a type of shiver. "My unconscious mind has been telling me about it all week and I still didn't remember. I forgot my grandmother," I cried.

"Shh. Listen to me." I lay where I was, eyes still shut. "Sookie, look at me." My eyes opened but I didn't roll over, my arms remained hugged to my chest. "Lover," he stated again, a little exasperated. One of his large hands hooked underneath my waist and flipped me onto my back. His hands then rested against my face, turning my head to look up into his eyes from where he was resting above me, putting his weight on his elbows.

"You didn't do anything wrong, nothing at all. You didn't forget your grandmother, you still think about her a lot. I can tell," he emphasised this point by touching his finger from my forehead to his before returning this hands to my face again. "You did what she would want; you went on with your life. You became happier than before, that's all your grandmother would have wanted, for you to be happy. You shouldn't grieve for the rest of your life."

He stared into my eyes, one blue pair looking at another blue pair. His eyes captivated me and I knew he was speaking the truth of many levels; my heart, his eyes and his mind. I didn't completely relax, guilt still welled up inside me, but the sobs stopped sending my body into spasms. This isn't what my grandmother would have wanted; she _would_ want me to be happy. Not for the first time did I wish that she could have actually met Eric. It would have been interesting.

"Come on, let's go pay our respects." He whispered, sitting us both up in one motion before leading me from the room and down the hall. His hand grasped a bunch of flowers whose origin I had no idea about and we proceeded out of the house, across the yard and into the old cemetery to speak to my grandmother. I still missed her, I still loved her but I had my rock in Eric and he wasn't going anywhere.

* * *

**So what did you think? You know I love reviews almost as much as I would love to snuggle with a certain Viking Vampire. Also, I have a new Sookie/Eric extended story out, I have two chapters out already and a third will be out tomorrow. It's called Lost and Found. Summary – Sookie never dated Bill but now she's turning to the vampires for help when Jason goes missing and the humans of Bon Temps seem to be doing nothing to help. Things take a decidedly super natural tilt and she really does need the vamps for back up. The thing is, she can't have both Bill and Eric with her, so who does she chose? Light or dark? Blond or brunette? **


	9. Synopsis and Timeline

**Hey guys, here's the synopsis for each story and a generalisation of where the stories are in relation to Cor Aut Mors as well. I hope this helps. This page will be updated regularly as I put out new short stories which is the reason it's looking a little blank at the minute. **

Maenad – my take on Sookie's meeting with the Maenad from the book Living Dead in Dallas and partly from season 2 of True Blood. Sookie is driving on the way to Bon Temps when she's attacked by the maenad. Can Eric get to her in time to save his beloved bonded? This story takes place about two years after the events in my longer story Cor Aut Mors.

Miss June – Eric's take on how they met for the first time at the bar which is detailed from Sookie's point of view in Cor Aut Mors. Takes place during the start of Cor Aut Mors (chapter 2)

Tea Cup Humans – Sookie has to look after Coby and Lisa one evening, things take a bit of an unexpected turn when Eric turns up without notice. Sookie and Arlene are still reforming their friendship after her relationship with Bill ended badly, how will Arlene take Eric and him looking after her kids? This is an almost light hearted story with a glimpse into Eric's past and his amusing interaction with children. Takes place in December of the same year that CAM does.

Dawn in Dallas – Eric takes Sookie on their first trip together as a couple so that he can introduce her to the some of the closest vampires he has to friends. Not all goes to plan when one of the Dallas vampires becomes suspicious of Sookie, wondering what her power is because she's not a normal human. Full of drama and insight, this story is based very loosely on the events of Living Dead in Dallas and takes place one year after Sookie meets Eric with amnesia in CAM.

Bill – So what really happened between Sookie and Bill? We've glimpsed the story before, we know he cheated but what was the situation behind the events and what exactly did it do to Sookie? All is explained in this story that takes place at the time of Sookie's relationship with Bill.

Hunting – Eric and Sookie have been together for awhile now haven't they? What's the next logical step for a vampire/human relationship? Well, Sookie just isn't sure and she needs to find out, quickly, or risk upsetting her man, erm vampire.

Questions – How exactly does one go about becoming blood bonded? It surely isn't swapping blood behind the scenes at a supernatural conference that's for sure. Set during late summer of the year after CAM.

Take Two – Eric and Sookie take another shot at taking a trip together, this time to New Orleans, but Eric as always has an added incentive for going. Can he keep Sookie safe from the Queen's claws whilst they're in her city or is all lost before it even begins? Takes place in spring two years after the beginning of CAM.

Tally Ho – Remember the fateful trip to Dallas? The problems that the vampire population had been facing as a result of the Fellowship of the Sun? This is what happens when you cross vampires. There's a reason vampires shouldn't be fought against by mere humans and the Dallas vampire prove that the Fellowship isn't as strong as first thought. Of course, they need help to defeat the threat and there's always casualties in battle. Set between Questions and Take Two.

Dirty Laundry – What can stop a 1000 year old Viking Vampire in his tracks? It's not something as scary as you would first think. Set a couple of months after the end of CAM.

Halloween Massacre – We're told in Living Dead in Dallas that Eric has met a maenad before in St Petersburg in 1876. This is what happened that so frightens him to hear that one is in the woods around Shreveport and Bon Temps.

Time Line

Cor Aut Mors/ Miss June

Bill

Dirty Laundry

Tea Cup Humans

Dawn in Dallas

Hunting

Questions

Tally Ho

Take Two

Maenad


End file.
